McDonald's Farm


See Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457)

McFee's Confession


See McAfee's Confession [Laws F13] (File: LF13)

McGinty's Meal-an-Ale


See M'Ginty's Meal-an-Ale (File: DBuch72)

McGinty's Model Lodge


DESCRIPTION: The singer is "a kind of overseer in a famous hotel" in Glasgow: "a 'Model' lodging house where working men do stay.... All the fighting men in Glasgow's in MacGinty's model Lodge." He describes the fights over imagined offenses.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1988 (McBride)
KEYWORDS: fight humorous nonballad worker
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
McBride 54, "McGinty's Model Lodge" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: McB1054

McGinty's Wedding


See Sheelicks (File: McCST109)

McKenna's Dream, The


DESCRIPTION: McKenna dreams of Ireland's heroes: Brian Boru, Sarsfield, St Ruth, Billy Byrne from Ballymanus, Reilly "on the hill of Screen," Father Murphy, the pikemen, Napoleon. "I looked around, but could not see One foeman on the plain... So ends McKenna's dream"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1850's (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion war Ireland dream patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Zimmermann 65, "The McKenna's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 133, "McKenna's Dream" (1 text, 1 tune)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 48-50, "M'Kenna's Dream" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 279-281, "MacKenna's Dream" (1 text)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 89-92, 513, "MacKenna's Dream"
Roud #2377
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(357), "The Irishman's Vision," E.M.A. Hodges (London), 1855-1861; also Firth b.25(357), "The Irishman's Vision"; 2806 b.10(133), "MacKenna's Dream"; Harding B 19(92), Harding B 26(434), 2806 c.8(115), "M'Kenna's Dream[!]"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Captain Rock" (tune, per Zimmermann, Hoagland))
NOTES: Zimmermann: "Donal O'Sullivan ... tells me that towards the end of the last century, at Buncrana, a street-singer would often be brought before the R.M. who asked: 'What is the charge in this case?' The answer would usually be: 'Singing McKenna's Dream, Sir.'"
At the Battle of Clontarf, 1014, Brian Boru defeated a combined force of Vikings and rebels from Leinster, but died in the battle. [For Brian, see "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave." - RBW]
At the Battle of Aughrim, 1691, the Irish Catholic forces [are finally defeated] and the commander of their French allies, St Ruth dies [see "After Aughrim's Great Disaster" - RBW].
Sarsfield is the Irish commander in 1691 who is on the field at Aughrim and Limerick (cf. "The Jackets Green")
United commander Billy Byrne is hanged in 1799 (cf. "Billy Byrne of Ballymanus")
The Wexford rebels under Father John Murphy defeat the North Cork militia in 1798. Father Murphy is caught and executed later in 1798 (cf. "Father Murphy (I).")
The pikemen fought for the rebels in the 1798 rebellion (cf. "General Monroe").
Reilly "on the hill of Screen" [i.e., Tara]. I don't know the reference, but "Rebels posted on Tara Hill, County Meath, were routed on May 26." (Zimmermann, p. 155) - BS
Although one would expect, from the contents of this song, that McKenna was a well-known Irish patriot, I have not been able to find any suitable candidate to be the dreamer. - RBW
The ballad is recorded on one of the CD's issued around the time of the bicentenial of the 1798 Irish Rebellion. See:
Franke Harte, "McKenna's Dream" (on "The Croppy's Complaint," Craft Recordings CRCD03 (1998); Terry Moylan notes) - BS
File: Zimm065

McKinley Brook


DESCRIPTION: The singer describes the poor conditions in the McKinley Brook logging camp: The buildings leak ("for comfort, as you plainly see"); there is a risk of flood ("for they deserve it well, it's true") and the gambling and bawdy singing rarely stops
AUTHOR: George Calhoun (around 1869?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1951
KEYWORDS: logger work hardtimes flood
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Doerflinger, pp. 220-221, "McKinley Brook" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9426
File: Doe220

McLellan's Son


DESCRIPTION: On April 18 Daniel McLennan is shot accidentally by Tim who claims he was playing carelessly with a gun he did not know was loaded.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1883 (Smith/Hatt)
KEYWORDS: murder death friend youth
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Peacock, pp. 831-832, "Young Daniel" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, pp. 72-73, "Mind How You Trifle With a Gun" (1 text)
Mackenzie 151, "McLellan's Son" (1 text)
Roud #1969
NOTES: Peacock quotes Mackenzie in Ballads and Songs of Nova Scotia re "McLellan's Son," his name for the song, that it was "made in commemoration of an accidental shooting ...[circa 1875] in Pugwash [Nova Scotia]" - BS
This is item dG43 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Pea831

McNab's Island


DESCRIPTION: Sergeant John McCafferty marches you "forty hours a day ... in the regular army." "I went down to McNab's Island" to fight Indians but "we got bald-headed And never lost a hair." "I got blisters... bunions...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: army humorous nonballad soldier
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-NovaScotia 134, "McNab's Island" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST CrNS134 (Partial)
Roud #1833
NOTES: Creighton-NovaScotia: "McNab's Island includes part of the fortification of Halifax Harbour" - BS
File: CrNS134

McPherson's Farewell


See MacPherson's Lament (File: K348)

McSorley's Beautiful Twins


See McSorley's Twins (File: Dean046)

McSorley's Twins


DESCRIPTION: "Mrs. McSorley had fine bouncing twins, Two fat little devils they were." The parents determine on a grand christening; many come to join the party. As guests get drunk, fights break out; at last "they smothered the two little twins."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: baby humorous party mother father fight twins
FOUND IN: US(MW) Canada
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Dean, pp. 46-47, "McSorley's Twins" (1 text)
DT, MCSORTWN
Roud #5501
ALTERNATE TITLES:
McSorley's Beautiful Twins
File: Dean046

McTavish is Dead


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, McTavish is dead and his brother doesn't know it, His brother is dead and McTavish doesn't know it. They're both of them dead and they're lying in bed And neither one knows that the other is dead."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1988
KEYWORDS: death
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 122, "McTavish Is Dead" (1 text, tune referenced)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Irish Washerwoman" (tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
MacTavish is Dead
NOTES: Said to have been used as mouth music for dancing. Presumably it is one of the several attempts to provide a lyric for "The Irish Washerwoman" -- in this case, probably just to help remember the tune. - RBW
File: PHCFS122

Me and My Baby and My Baby's Friend


DESCRIPTION: Floating verse song (even the chorus changes): "Me 'n' my baby 'n' my baby's friend Can pick mo' cotton dan a cotton gin." "I got a baby and a honey too." "Boat's up de ribber and she won't come down." Etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: floatingverses love work
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 236, (no title) (1 text, which appears more a collection of blues stanzas than an actual song, but verses from songs such as "Boat's Up the River" and "I Got a Gal in de White Folks' Yard")
File: ScaNF236

Me Father Is a Lawyer in England


See My God, How the Money Rolls In; also My Father's a Hedger and Ditcher and The Cobbler (File: EM107)

Me Father's a Lawyer in England


See My God, How the Money Rolls In (File: EM107)

Me Johnny Mitchell Man


DESCRIPTION: A miner's song in "Slavic" dialect, telling how the immigrant has been working in the mines, in bad conditions, for many years. When "Me Johnny Mitchell man" calls a strike, the singer will welcome it
AUTHOR: Con Carbon
EARLIEST DATE: 1938
KEYWORDS: emigration mining strike labor-movement
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1899 - John Mitchell becomes President of the United Mine Workers of America. He devoted much of his energy to soothing tensions between Slavs and longer-settled workers so that the UMW could effectively strike against the mine owners
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 865-867, "Me Johnny Mitchell Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #4757
File: BAF865

Me Old Ragadoo


DESCRIPTION: Michael Chaser was born "with me hands in the pockets of me old ragadoo." At forty he meets Suzy Lagan but claims he won't shame her by taking her to the altar in his old ragadoo. She is fine with that and bids him adieu. He marries someone else.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: poverty courting clothes humorous
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 77, "Me Old Ragadoo" (1 text, 1 tune)
RECORDINGS:
Anita Best, "Me Old Ragadoo" (on NFABest01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Little Beggarman" (tune, words)
NOTES: Lehr/Best: "A 'ragadoo' is a general name for a tattered garment, presumably with pockets."
This is close enough to "The Little Beggarman" that I could not argue too long if they were considered the same song. Clearly, one is derived from the other. The difference is that this song, in Lehr/Best, actually has a story (having nothing to do with begging). Nevertheless, I would bet that this is the derivative. - BS
File: LeBe077

Me One Man


See One Man Shall Mow My Meadow (File: ShH100)

Meagher's Children [Laws G25]


DESCRIPTION: Two girls, four and six years old, lose their way in the woods and die. It takes a hundred men a week to find their bodies.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1932 (Creighton-NovaScotia)
KEYWORDS: children death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Apr 11, 1842 - "Two little girls from Preston Road into the woods did stray"
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Laws G25, "Meagher's Children"
Creighton-NovaScotia 135, "Meagher's Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 204-205, "Meagher's Children" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 75-77,248-249, "Lost Babes of Halifax" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 30, "The Lost Babes of Halifax (Meagher's Children)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 347, MEAGCHLD
Roud #1834
NOTES: Manny/Wilson: The initials of the author are disputed. Creighton refers to a copy with initials B.G.V. and Manny/Wilson refers to a copy with initials D.G.B. "An article in the Dartmouth Free Press, by Dr J P Martin, April 12, 1962, says decidedly that the author is Daniel G Blois, of The Gore, Hants County, Nova Scotia." - BS
File: LG25

Mealy-Mou'd Charlie


DESCRIPTION: Charlie warns "fan ye mairry tae manage yer wife." When she nagged him and he took a stick to beat her she took it and beat him. She scratches him when he drinks. Though she reads the Scriptures she is the devil that breaks "hen-ridden" Charlie's bones.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: shrewishness marriage warning violence drink humorous nonballad wife
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1300, "Mealy-Mou'd Charlie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7198
File: GrD71300

Measles in the Spring, The


See The Sow Took the Measles (File: LoF015)

Meditations of an Old Bachelor (The Good Old-Fashioned Girl)


DESCRIPTION: "The girls today are different from those I used to know, They never seem contented unless they're on the go." He complains about makeup, short hair, etc.; "Womenly characteristics we loved and prized are few." He wants a "good old-fashioned girl."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: hair clothes courting bachelor
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 57, "Meditations of an Old Bachelor" (1 text)
Roud #7843
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Good Old Days of Adam and Eve" (theme) and references there
cf. "The Braw Servant Lasses" (subject)
NOTES: All I can say to the singer is, "You couldn't get a woman back when they *were* modest; why should they want you now when you're old and a grump?"
Despite this sort of whine, it's worth noting that the population of the planet has doubled repeatedly since this grouse was written (1920s?). Evidently most men can adapt to modern women. - RBW
File: Br3057

Meeks Family Murder (I), The [Laws F28]


DESCRIPTION: The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime (the song details Nellie's story, and ends before the villains are captured)
AUTHOR: Arthur Wallace
EARLIEST DATE: 1913
KEYWORDS: murder family escape
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws F28, "The Meeks Family Murder I"
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "A" group of 3 texts and 1 tune is this song; Belden however believes that A1 and A3 are mixtures of F28 and "The Meeks Family Murder (IV)," which is Belden's "B" group. "C" is "The Meeks Family Murder (V)", "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune; with the "B" and "C" texts being this song; the A text is Laws F30, and D is Laws F29)
Burt, pp. 232-234, "(The Meeks Massacre)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 719, MEEKMUR1*
Roud #2266
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: Belden has detailed notes on the history of this piece; it appears that the Taylors were unsavory sorts, perhaps guilty of cattle stealing, and their employee and tenant Gus Meeks -- given a pardon by the governor -- was going to provide evidence of their financial wrongdoing
The Taylors, knowing they were in trouble, offered Meeks a better job, and convinced him to go along with them, then tried to kill the whole family with axes and burn their bodies. The hay used in the fire, however, was wet, and so Nellie Meeks, once she awoke, was able to escape alive and report the crime.
Both brothers were sentenced to be hanged, but George escaped and no reliable evidence of his later career is available. Folklore, however, attended both George Taylor and Nellie Meeks for many years (e.g. Nellie is said to have borne a "dint" from the blow of the axe to her head for the rest of her life).
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first stanza:
About a mile from Brownington
At the foot of Jenkins's hill,
Took place this awful murder
By the Taylors, George and Bill.
(Other versions of the song use stanzas of eight lines of this sort.)
This song seems to have mixed heavily with "The Meeks Family Murder IV."
- RBW
File: LF28

Meeks Family Murder (II), The [Laws F29]


DESCRIPTION: The Meeks Family (husband, wife, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime. The Taylors are captured and sentenced to die
AUTHOR: credited to Marion Anderson (1894)
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: murder children escape execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws F29, "The Meeks Family Murder II"
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune, but Laws considers only the "D" text to be this song; "A" is F30 and "B" and "C" go with F28)
Burt, p. 235, "(The Meeks massacre)" (1 excerpt)
DT 797, MEEKMUR2
Roud #2267
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first stanza:
'Twas in the lovely springtime,
In the merry month of May,
When Meeks, his wife, and children
Were induced to go away. - RBW
File: LF29

Meeks Family Murder (III), The [Laws F30]


DESCRIPTION: Nellie Meeks recounts her fate. Her family (father, mother, and three children) are lured from home by the Taylors. The parents and two children are killed, but wounded Nellie escapes to report the crime and tell of being an orphan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1915 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws F30, "The Meeks Family Murder III"
Randolph 152, "The Meeks Murder" (4 texts, 1 tune, but Laws considers only the "A" text -- which has the only tune -- to be part of F30; "B" and "C" are F28 and "D" is F29)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 151-153, "The Meeks Murder" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 152A)
Burt, pp. 235-236, "(Nellie's Lament)" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 796, MEEKMUR3
Roud #2268
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder IV"
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
Rumor has it that Nellie (elsewhere called Sadie) Meeks herself sang this variant in the 1890s. One person who claimed to be a family relative denied this, saying that Nellie stayed with her grandmother until she married, gave birth, and died at the age of eighteen.
To tell this piece from the other Meeks ballads, consider this first verse:
We lived upon the Taylor's farm
Not many miles from town;
One night while we were all asleep
The Taylor boys came down.
- RBW
File: LF30

Meeks Family Murder (IV), The


DESCRIPTION: George Meeks is in prison, but is offered a pardon to testify against the Taylors. The Taylors offer him a job and money to come with him, but then kill him and his family. Nellie escapes and laments being an orphan
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "B" group of 5 texts and 1 tune is this song, though Laws lists only three texts -- B1, B3, and either B2 or B4, probably the latter -- as this piece; in addition, some of Belden's "A" texts, which belong to "The Meeks Family Murder (I)", appear to have mixed with this piece. Belden's "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Roud #2269
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
This is item dF49 in Laws's Appendix II.
To tell this ballad from the other Meeks Murder songs, consider this first stanza:
In Milan, Sullivan County,
There lived a family poor,
A father and a mother,
Three children around the door. - RBW
File: Beld408A

Meeks Family Murder (V -- Nellie's Lament), The


DESCRIPTION: The singer laments, "Once I had a mamma, likewise a papa too." She recalls a beautiful, sunny day; the next thing she can remember is a pain in her head and the bodies of her family. Having told her tale, she regrets her fate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1913 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: murder family children orphan
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 11, 1894 - Gus Meeks, his wife, and two children are killed by William and George Taylor (who are suspected of cattle stealing). William Taylor was hanged; George escaped and was not recaptured
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 404-412, "The Meeks Family Murder" (11 texts, 2 tunes, grouped into types A-E; the "C" text is this song, while "A" is "The Meeks Family Murder (I)" and "B" is "The Meeks Family Murder (IV). Belden's "D" is too brief to categorize, and "E" is not traditional)
Roud #2270
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder I" [Laws F28]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder II" [Laws F29]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder III" [Laws F30]
cf. "The Meeks Family Murder (IV)"
NOTES: For more historical details on this piece, see the notes to "The Meeks Family Murder" (I).
This is item dF50 in Laws's Appendix II.
To tell this ballad from the other Meeks Murder songs, consider the first line above and the chorus:
Sad, sad to be an orphan here,
No more to see my little sisters dear,
They are in heaven, the voices they are still,
The fatal blows were given upon the Jenkins Hill. - RBW
File: Beld407B

Meet Me at the Fair


See Meet Me in Saint Louis (File: R514)

Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis


DESCRIPTION: Louis returns from work to find Flossie not at home. Her note says that life is too slow, and tells him to "Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, Meet me at the fair; Don't tell me the lights are shining Any place but there." A despondent Louis prepares to move
AUTHOR: Words: Andrew B. Sterling / Music: Kerry Mills
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (sheet music)
KEYWORDS: love travel separation abandonment
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1904 - St. Louis Louisiana Purchase Exposition (World's Fair), for which Kerry Mills wrote this song
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph 514, "Meet Me at the Fair" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 255, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis" (1 text)
Geller-Famous, pp. 241-244, "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7597
RECORDINGS:
Billy Murray, "Meet Me In St. Louis, Louis" (Victor 2850, 1904)
NOTES: Although the song pronounces the name of the town "St. Louie", no St. Louis resident ever uses that pronunciation, and we look upon it with disdain. - PJS
According to Geller, Sterling and a couple of friends visited a bar run by a man named Louis (Louie), and they called his product Louie as well. When Sterling came in, one of the others said, "Another Louie, Louie," and that inspired the idea.
Incidentally, the 1904 World's Fair turned out to have a great deal of cultural influence (and waistline influence). Joe Schwartz, That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles, ECW press, 2002, pp. 214-218, notes that among the inventions popularized there were the ice cream cone (ice cream was well known, but until then it had been served mostly in dishes), the hot dog bun, peanut butter (originally designed as a protein source for those with poor or no teeth), cotton candy, and Dr. Pepper soda. - RBW
File: R514

Meet Me in the Bottoms


DESCRIPTION: "Meet me in the bottoms with my boots and shoes, Whoo Lordy mamma, Great God A'mighty...." The singer "got to leave this town now." He notes that he sees both the woman he loves and the woman he hates every day
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (recording, Davie Lee)
KEYWORDS: love separation clothes
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, pp. 97-98, (no title) (1 text); p. 274, "Meet Me in the Bottoms" (1 tune, partial text)
RECORDINGS:
Davie Lee, "Meet Me in the Bottoms" (on NFMAla6)
NOTES: Despite the fact that Davie Lee's version appears in the series of recordings, "Negro Folk Music of Alabama," he was recorded in Mississippi. - PJS
File: CNFM097

Meet Me in the Moonlight


See The Prisoner's Song (File: FSC100)

Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight


DESCRIPTION: The singer calls on his sweetheart to "Meet me tonight in the moonlight." He bids her come alone and hear his sad story. He is being sent to sea, and they must part. He expresses his hope to return in metaphors of a fine ship, angels' wings, etc.
AUTHOR: Joseph A. Wade
EARLIEST DATE: 1924
KEYWORDS: separation love
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (6 citations):
Randolph 746, "Meet Me Tonight" (3 texts plus a gragment, 1 tune, although the "C" text is probably "The Prisoner's Song (I)")
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 489-491, "Meet Me Tonight" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 746A)
BrownIII 350, "The Prisoner's Song" (7 texts plus 1 fragment, 2 excerpts, and mention of 1 more; "A"-"C," plus probably the "D" excerpt, are "The Prisoner's Song (I)"; "E" and "G," plus perhaps the "H" fragment, are "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight"; "J" and "K" are "Sweet Lulur")
Sandburg, pp. 216-217, "Moonlight" (1 text plus an excerpt, 1 tune)
Belden, p. 494, "Beautiful Light o'er the Sea" (1 text, possibly mixed with something else)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 346-351, "New Jail/Prisoner's Song/Here's Adieu to all Judges and Juries" (1, not collected by Scarborough, of "Judges and Juries," plus 6 texts from her collections: "New Jail," "I'm Going To My New Jail Tomorrow," "New Jail," "Meet Me in the Moonlight," "The Great Ship," "Prisoner's Song"; 3 tunes on pp.449-450; the "A" fragment is probably "Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight"; "B" and "D" are "New Jail" types; "C" is too short to classify; "E" is a mix of floating verse, "If I had a great ship on the ocean," "Let her go, let her go and God bless her," "Sometimes I'll live in the white house, sometimes I live in town..."; "F" may well have some Dalhart influence)
Roud #767
RECORDINGS:
Burnett & Rutherford, "Meet Me in the Moonlight" (Supertone 9443, 1929)
Carter Family, "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone" (Victor 23731, 1928) (Perfect 7-01-54/7-05-55, both 1937)
Bradley Kincaid, "I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me" (Vocalion 02686, 1934)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prisoner's Song (I)"
cf. "I'm Dying for Someone to Love Me" (lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
I Wish I Had Someone to Love Me
NOTES: This song later became merged with a version of "Botany Bay/Here's Adieu to All Judges and Juries" to produce "The Prisoner's Song." See notes on that piece also, as they often cannot be distinguished. It doesn't help that that song was built out of traditional materials by Vernon Dalhart (or someone), and the Carter Family patched up a version also.
Belden's "Beautiful Light o'er the Sea" is a curiosity; it doesn't really look like this song -- but two of its three verses go with this song, and the whole theme is very similar. Since I haven't met the "other half" that gave it its title (indeed, it sounds more like a hymn than anything else), it seemed proper to file it here so people will realize that the "half and half" song exists.
Richard Dress informs us that Joseph Augustine Wade (1796?-1845) wrote the lyrics 'Meet me by moonlight alone, And then I will tell you a tale Must be told by the moonlight alone" around 1826. It seems to have been the only thing he ever did of significance; my sources don't even agree on whether his middle name was "Augustus" or "Augustine."
This latter piece can be found as broadside NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(83b) "Meet Me by Moonlight Alone," Poet's Box (Dundee), n.d. - RBW
File: R746

Meet, O Lord!


DESCRIPTION: "Meet, O Lord, on the milk-white horse, An' de nineteen wile in his hand. Drop on, drop on the crown on my head, And rolly in my Jesus's arms. In that morning all day (x3), When Jesus the Christ been born." "Moon went into the poplar tree...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad Jesus
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 43, "Meet, O Lord!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #11998
File: AWG043A

Meeting at the Building


DESCRIPTION: "Meeting at the building Soon be over (with) (x3), Meeting at the building soon be over (with), All over this world." "Preaching at the building...." Continue with shouting, praying, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Silber-FSWB, p. 354, "Meeting At The Building" (1 text)
Roud #11694
SAME TUNE:
Elizabeth Cotten, "Praying Time Will Soon Be Over" (on Cotten03)
File: FSWB354

Meeting of Tara, The


DESCRIPTION: Thousands attend to support O'Connell and Repeal. The counties are represented. Dan appears: 3 cheers for Victoria, 9000 for Repeal. Wellington and Peel would face more men at Tara than at Waterloo. "Come rouse my brave Repealers be obedient to the law"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 19(102))
KEYWORDS: Ireland political
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Aug 15, 1843 - Repeal meeting at Tara (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 50B, "The Meeting of Tara" (1 fragment)
Healy-OISBv2, pp. 79-81, "The Meeting of Tara" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(102), "Meeting of Tara" ("On the 15th day of August in the year of 43"), J.F. Nugent & Co. (Dublin), 1850-1899; also 2806 b.9(269), 2806 c.15(118), "The Meeting of Tara"; 2806 c.15(277), "The Tara Monster Meeting"
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) , "The Tara Monster Meeting," James Lindsay (Glasgow), c.1843 [? see Notes]
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Glorious Repeal Meeting Held at Tara Hill" and references there
cf. "Daniel O'Connell (I)" (subject: Daniel O'Connell) and references there
NOTES: The description is from broadside Bodleian Harding B 19(102). A line from the broadside hints that it may date from after October 8 when the Clontarff meeting was abandoned: "Such a grand sight was never seen nor will till times no more."
The commentary for broadside NLScotland L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) states "The meeting at Tara, Co. Meath in the summer of 1843, is now estimated to have been attended by 750,000 people." It is interesting that that version, seemingly a duplicate of Bodleian 2806 c.15(277), is shortened to omit all reference to O'Connell: not only the final five verses but also the lines in the first verse ("On the Royal Hill of Tara, Irish thousands did prevail, In Union's hands to join their hands with Dan, for the Repeal" becomes "On the Royal Hill of Tara, Where thousands did prevail, In union's bonds to join their hands, To sign for the repeal.")
Be skeptical about NLS dating. L.C.Fol.178.A.2(065) has two entries which, when put together, seem the same as Bodleian 2806 c.15(277). "The Irish Girl" half has the printer's information; "The Tara Monster Meeting" half, of course, has no printer information. NLS dates "The Irish Girl" "Probable period of publication: 1860-1890" and "The Tara Monster Meeting" "Probable date published: 1843" - BS
Be skeptical about NLS numbers estimates, too -- 750,000 people was a tenth of the population of Ireland! Robert Kee (p. 208 of The Most Distressful Country, which is volume I of The Green Flag) mentions this estimate, but notes that it was from The Nation -- which was pro-Irish. O'Connell's estimate was an even more absurd million and a half. A more realistic estimate is a quarter of a million (from Cecil Woodham-Smith, The Great Hunger, p. 11).
Nonetheless it is clear that O'Connell faced more people than Wellington at Waterloo. Wellington (who had been Prime Minister from 1828, and in fact granted Catholic emancipation) at Waterloo had faced only about 72,000 men under Napoleon.
"Repeal" was of course O'Connell's basic political platform; he wanted repeal of the Union between Ireland and Great Britain.
Sadly, the Monster Meetings accomplished little. As Kee writes on p. 209, "The real question was whether the giant had a giant's strength. The closer O'Connell got to his goal the nearer came the moment whenthe question of how exactly he hoped to get Repeal if the government continued to stand firm had to be answered. This critical moment was in fact just seven weeks away."
O'Connell published a platform of reforms he sought, then scheduled another Monster Meeting for Clontarf, where Brian Boru had won his great victory.
The day before the meeting was to take place (October 5), the government decided it didn't trust O'Connell's protestations of loyalty. They banned the meeting. O'Connell could sure have held it anyway. But he stood firm to his principle of loyalty, cancelled the meeting -- and saw his movement all but collapse. He had blinked, and from being distrusted by the British, he now saw himself distrusted by the extreme radicals also.
Shortly after this, the government had O'Connell arrested. He was convicted in a farce trial and was sentences to a fairly brief spell of minimum-security detention. But, by the time he was free to move about again, the potato blight had arrived. Repeal was a fine principle, but what Ireland needed was food; the Liberator perforce spent his last years trying to prod a stubbornly non-interventionist government to provide aid.
The "Iron Duke" is of course the Duke of Wellington, victor at Waterloo, and a former Prime Minister; although his official government role was relatively slight by this time, he had an important role as an advisor to Sir Robert Peel's government and was overjoyed at the ending of the Monster Meetings. Sir Robert Peel himself (1788-1850) was Prime Minister for most of this period; some of his legislation, ironically, was pro-Irish, but he was anti-Whig and anti-O'Connell (and later would earn deserved infamy for his lack of response to the potato famine). Basically he believe in small government -- in all the bad senses. - RBW
File: Zimm050B

Meeting of the Waters, The


DESCRIPTION: "There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet" The magic of the spot "'twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near"
AUTHOR: Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
EARLIEST DATE: before 1835 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2174))
KEYWORDS: lyric nonballad friend river
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
O'Conor, p. 54, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 15, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Kinsella, _The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1989), p. 269, "The Meeting of the Waters" (1 text)
ST OCon054B (Partial)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2174), "Meeting of the Waters", G Walker (Durham), 1797-1834; also Harding B 11(584), Johnson Ballads fol. 18 View 2 of 2, Harding B 45(23) View 3 of 3, Harding B 11(4323), Harding B 11(4189), Harding B 15(195a), Harding B 17(193a), "[The] Meeting of the Waters"
SAME TUNE:
The Head of Old Dennis (broadside Bodleian Harding B 17(193a))
NOTES: This is among the most popular of Moore's poems; Granger's Index to Poetry cites four anthologies -- and none of them the usual suspects. - RBW
File: OCon054B

Melancholy Accident, A -- The Death of M. Hodge


DESCRIPTION: "Far distant friends will drop a tear When of this accident they hear." A group of girls visits Betsy Green's school. With bad weather coming, parents gather six girls -- but the horses fall on a slope; Mira is killed instantly; Eliza succumbs weeks later
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Gardner/Chickering)
KEYWORDS: death horse injury disaster wreck
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Gardner/Chickering 126, "A Melancholy Accident -- The Death of M. Hodge" (1 text)
ST GC126 (Partial)
Roud #3701
NOTES: This looks very historical, but it's not really specific enough (or clear enough; it's poor poetry) to allow much hope of dating it. - RBW
File: GC126

Memory of the Dead, The


DESCRIPTION: "Who fears to speak of Ninety-Eight? Who blushes at the name?" The listeners are urged to recall the soldiers of the Irish rebellion, and to cherish their values
AUTHOR: Words: Joseph Kells Ingram (1823-1907)
EARLIEST DATE: 1843 (Zimmermann: "According to _The Nation_, 12 April, 1843, 'The Memory of the Dead' was first sung in a 'Symposium' held on St. Patrick's Day")
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion memorial
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - the 1798 Rebellion
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (10 citations):
O'Conor, pp. 48-49, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text)
Zimmermann 51, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 136, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
PGalvin, pp. 39-40, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MEMRYDED*
ADDITIONAL: Edward Hayes, The Ballads of Ireland (Boston, 1859), Vol I, pp. 276-277, "The Memory of the Dead"
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 505-506, "The Memory of the Dead (1798)" (1 text)
H. Halliday Sparling, Irish Minstrelsy (London, 1888), pp. 63-64, 501, "The Memory of the Dead"
Charles Sullivan, ed., Ireland in Poetry, p. 90, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text)
Donagh MacDonagh and Lennox Robinson, _The Oxford Book of Irish Verse_ (Oxford, 1958, 1979), pp. 80-82, "The Memory of the Dead" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Orange Yeomanry of '98" (lyrics)
SAME TUNE:
Easter Week (The Song of 1916) (Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 263-264)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Who Fears to Speak of Ninety-Eight?
NOTES: According to Robert Kee in The Most Distressful Country (being Volume I of The Green Flag), p. 203, this poem served to rehabilitate Ireland's memory of the 1798 rebellion, which at the time it was published "had been under a polite historical cloud for nearly half a century."
In an irony pointed out by the semi-parody "The Orange Yeomanry of '98," it was initially published anonymously. - RBW
File: PGa039

Memphis Flu


DESCRIPTION: In 1929 people in Memphis are dying from influenza. Doctors say they will control the flu soon, but God shows his power by making them sick too. Influenza, "puts a pain in every bone/a few days you are gone/to a place in the ground called the grave."
AUTHOR: Words: Elder David Curry/Music: Benjamin Hanby
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (recording, Elder Curry & congregation)
LONG DESCRIPTION: In 1929 people in Memphis are dying from influenza. Doctors say they will have the flu under control in a few days, but God shows his power by sending the doctors and nurses to sickbeds too. Influenza, "puts a pain in every bone/a few days you are gone/to a place in the ground called the grave." Ch.: "It was God's mighty hand/He is judging this old land...Yes, He killed the rich and poor/And he's going to kill more/If you don't turn away from your shame"
KEYWORDS: disease death religious doctor gods
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1918 - Influenza pandemic kills tens of millions worldwide.
FOUND IN: US(SE)
RECORDINGS:
Elder Curry & Congregation, "Memphis Flu" (OKeh 8857, 1931; rec. 1930; on Babylon)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Darling Nelly Gray" (tune)
NOTES: The 1918 pandemic was the most devastating in [recent] history; smaller outbreaks occurred in later years. Curry may be conflating one of these with the 1918 disease, the symptoms of which were closer to his description than those of "normal" flu. - PJS
File: RcMemFlu

Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in Phoenix Park, The


DESCRIPTION: The men will be tried for murder on the evidence of the double-dyed informer Carey. He duped them and "pointed out the victims, the men that were to be stabbed"; "let us hope further fair play won't be denied." Carey should be given justice
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1966 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: betrayal murder trial nonballad
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
The Phoenix Park murders (source: primarily Zimmermann, pp. 62, 63, 281-286.)
May 6, 1882 - Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under Secretary Thomas Henry Burke are murdered by a group calling themselves "The Invincible Society."
January 1883 - twenty seven men are arrested.
James Carey, one of the leaders in the murders, turns Queen's evidence.
Six men are condemned to death, four are executed (Joseph Brady is hanged May 14, 1883; Daniel Curley is hanged on May 18, 1883), others are "sentenced to penal servitude," and Carey is freed and goes to South Africa.
July 29, 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell kills Carey on board the "Melrose Castle" sailing from Cape Town to Durban.
Dec 1883 - Patrick O'Donnell is convicted of the murder of James Carey and executed in London (per Leach-Labrador)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann, p. 63, "A New Song on the Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in Phoenix Park" (1 fragment)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 26(427), "A New Song on The Men Awaiting Trial for the Murders in the Phoenix Park ("In the dark dismal dungeons and the cold prison cell ," unknown, n.d.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Phoenix Park Tragedy" (subject: the Phoenix Park murders) and references there
NOTES: Zimmermann p. 62: "The Phoenix Park murders and their judicial sequels struck the popular imagination and were a gold-mine for ballad-writers: some thirty songs were issued on this subject, which was the last great cause to be so extensively commented upon in broadside ballads."
Zimmermann p. 63 is a fragment; broadside Bodleian Harding B 26(427) is the basis for the description. - BS
File: BrdMATMP

Men of County Clare, The


DESCRIPTION: Toast "The men of County Clare!" Brian Boru's call to defeat of the Danes, and de Valera's call "to strike for native land" were answered by "the mighty men of Clare". Toast "'Our land a nation free again From Cork to Antrim's shore!'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: battle Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 48, "The Men of County Clare" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5237
NOTES: At the Battle of Clontarf, 1014, Brian Boru defeated a combined force of Vikings and rebels from Leinster, but died in the battle.
The song mentions Eamon de Valera. The Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 6, 1921 established the Irish Free State. The Civil War that followed was between the pro-treaty and anti-treaty factions. De Valera led the ant-treaty faction. (source: Irish Civil War at the Wikipedia site).- BS
For more on Brian Boru, see the notes to "Remember the Glories of Brian the Brave." For de Valera, the Free State, and the Civil War, see e.g. the notes to "The Irish Free State" and "General Michael Collins"; also "The Boys from County Cork." - RBW
File: RcMoCoCl

Men of the West, The


DESCRIPTION: "Forget not the boys of the heather Who rallied their bravest and best When Ireland was broken in Wexford And looked for revenge to the West." The brief success and final failure of the western rising are recounted.
AUTHOR: William Rooney
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (IRClancyMakem03)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland death derivative
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion
Aug 22, 1798 - 1100 French troops under General Humbert land at Killala Bay in County Mayo. He would surrender on Sept. 8, and by May 23 the Mayo rising had been suppressed with some brutality
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (3 citations):
PGalvin, pp. 30-31, "The Men of the West" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 114, "The Men of the West" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MENWEST*
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "The Men of the West" (on IRClancyMakem03)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rosin the Beau" (tune) and references there
cf. "Eoghan Coir" (tune according to Moylan, which tune we generally index as "Rosin the Beau")
cf. "Rouse, Hibernians" (subject)
cf. "The West's Asleep" (subject)
cf. "The Frenchmen" (subject)
NOTES: The 1798 rising had already been crushed (see the notes on ""The Shan Van Vogt" and "Boulavogue") when French general Humbert landed, largely on his own initiative, in County Mayo (August 1798). A few local peasants rose, and the local British forces were defeated at the "Races of Castlebar."
Castlebar was one of the most ignominous defeats in history: The Loyalists were on the defensive, in prepared trenches; their forces are thought to have been larger, and they had the overwhelming edge in artillery. But their Irish militiamen fled, and the handful of steadier forces could not hold in those circumstances.
Humbert, however, had only three ships, all frigates -- not enough men to do anything of significance. There was supposed to be another French force, under Hardy -- but it was delayed while its commander tried to get the money needed to pay the troops out of the French government.
Nor was the country particularly receptive when Humbert landed. Connaught had not rebelled at the height of the 1798 rising; a few French troops could not inspire a real rebellion. Worse still, the recruits he did get were Catholics, with few weapons, poor training, and no contact with the United Irish movement.
Humbert hardly helped his cause by an explosive temper. Nor did he help his cause by having no money; he issued drafts on the "Republic of Connaught," but in a country that had no banks, few even understood the cheques they were given in lieu of payment for what was requisitioned.
It's probably no surprise that Humbert soon had to surrender. He chased around the west of Ireland, and tried to open a way to Dublin, but eventually was trapped between forces led by Cornwallis and Lake; with no reliable troops except his French veterans, he had no choice but to yield to superior force on September 8, 1798. That was the effective end of Humbert's career; indeed, most references I checked don't even list his death date.
(If it matters, Robert Kee's The Most Distressful Country, being Volume I of The Green Flag, gives a brief account of his later career on page 140: He fell out with Napoleon and went to the United States, participating in the Battle of New Orleans. He participated in Mexico's 1815 rebellion against Spain, then went back to the U.S. where he died in 1823.)
There would be two more French naval expeditions in 1798; for the second, a single ship carrying Napper Tandy, see the notes to "The Wearing of the Green." The third and largest expedition, with Wolfe Tone aboard, is described under "The Shan Van Vogt." - RBW
"Eoghan Coir" [the listed tune for this piece in some Irish sources] is a poem by Riocard Bairead (1740-1819) (source: "Riocard Bairead" in the Ar gCeantar and Beyond project at the Inver National School site). - BS
File: PGa030

Men's Clothes I Will Put On (I)


See William and Nancy I (Lisbon; Men's Clothing I'll Put On I) [Laws N8] (File: LN08)

Men's Clothes I Will Put On (II)


See The Banks of the Nile (Men's Clothing I'll Put On II) [Laws N9] (File: LN09)

Men's Clothes I Will Put On (III)


See Jack Monroe (Jackie Frazer; The Wars of Germany) [Laws N7] (File: LN07)

Menschikoff


See Our Brave Scotch Lads (File: GrD1157)

Merchant and the Beggar Wench, The


See The Beggar Wench (File: K338)

Merchant's Daughter (I), The


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

Merchant's Daughter (II), The


See The Slighted Suitor (File: HHH159)

Merchant's Daughter and Her Sailor


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

Merchant's Daughter Turned Sailor, The


See The Silk Merchant's Daughter [Laws N10] (File: LN10)

Merchant's Only Son, The [Laws M21]


DESCRIPTION: A young man's parents send him to America to keep him from marrying a poor girl. He reaches land despite his ship's wreck. He meets a rich girl who offers marriage, but he remains true to the girl at home. The rich girl gives him money to return to her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.11(224))
KEYWORDS: transportation exile courting poverty ship wreck escape return
FOUND IN: US(MW) Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Laws M21, "The Merchant's Only Son"
Ranson, pp. 48-49, "The North Star" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardner/Chickering 74, "The Merchant's Only Son" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 764, MERCHSON
Roud #1019
RECORDINGS:
Martin Howley, "The North Star" (on IRClare01)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.11(224), "The Belfast Lovers" ("You lovers all attention pay, the truth I will pen down"), T. Pearson (Manchester), 1850-1899; also Johnson Ballads 1895, "The Belfast Lovers"; 2806 c.8(156), "The Limerick Lovers"; 2806 b.9(65), "The Lovers of Derry"
NOTES: Ranson: Tune is "Thomas Murphy" on p. 98.
Ranson's version makes the lost ship the North Star, an historical wreck on the Welsh coast (see "The North Star") - BS
File: LM21

Merchant's Son and the Beggar Wench, The


See The Beggar Wench (File: K338)

Merchants of Fogo, The


DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye toil-warn fishermen ... lend an ear; Beware of those cursed merchants, in their dealings they're not fair; For fish they'll give half value." All local merchants are thieves except the Hodge brothers; "they've showed justice to each man"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1929 (Greenleaf/Mansfield)
KEYWORDS: greed accusation commerce nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greenleaf/Mansfield 149, "The Merchants of Fogo" (1 text)
Roud #17749
NOTES: Fogo, on Fogo Island, is up the East Coast about 170 miles north of Saint John's. Greenleaf/Mansfield states "This song with its coarse slander and gossip was made up in praise of the Hodge Brothers [by] ... a man ... hoping to curry favor." Mr Hodge, however, was not impressed. - BS
File: GrMa149

Merchants of the Bay


DESCRIPTION: The merchants of the village of St Peter's Bay are named and characterized: good and bad. "Oh those were spirit stirring times, some twenty years ago" Times have changed for the worse; some remaining moderns are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Dibblee/Dibblee)
KEYWORDS: commerce nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dibblee/Dibblee, pp. 23-24, "Merchants of the Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #12478
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Twenty Years Ago (Forty Years Ago)" (tune)
NOTES: St Peter's is on the north coast of Kings, Prince Edward Island - BS
File: Dib023

Merchants, The


DESCRIPTION: "It's all about the cruel rogues of merchants No pity or love do they show." They live a life of ease and luxury and sell poor goods and show no charity. But death found rich and poor on Florizel and Titanic and will find the merchants too.
AUTHOR: Paddy Dover
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: hardheartedness poverty commerce nonballad
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 78, "The Merchants" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: Florizel and Titanic, of course, are famous Newfoundland wrecks with songs of their own. - BS
It's a sad irony to note that, on the Titanic at least, losses were heavier among the third class passengers (who were down below) than the rich in first class. - RBW
File: LeBe078

Mercy, O Thou Son of David


See references under This Old World (File: DarN259B)

Merie Sungen the Muneches Bennen Ely (Merry Sang the Monks of Ely)


DESCRIPTION: "Merie sungen the munches binnen Ely, Tha Cnut ching reu ther by; Roweth, cnicts, noer the land, And here we thes moneches saeng." "Merry sang the monks of Ely, When King Cnut rowed there by, Row, knights, near the land, And hear we the monks sing."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1300 (Trinity College/Cambridge MS 1105)
KEYWORDS: royalty clergy river nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Stevick-100MEL 1, "Myrie songen the monkes binne Ely)" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Brown/Robbins, _Index of Middle English Verse_, #2164
NOTES: Gummere, according to Chambers, p. 177, offered the hypothesis that there were ballads before the transcription of "Judas" [Child 23], usually held to be the earliest ballad. This single-verse fragment was the only supporting evidence for the hypothesis. Greene, Early English Carols, accepted this hypothesis to the extent of including this fragment among the carols. On that basis, I include the piece. But a great many cautions are required.
We must start with the source. The manuscript containing the text is Cambridge, Trinity College MS. O.2.1 (or MS. 1105). James, volume III, p. 79, describes this vellum manuscript as "Cent. xii late, in a beautiful hand." That is, based on the handwriting, it appears to have been written between 1150 and 1200. On the basis of the manuscript, Stevick (e.g.) dates "Merry Sang...." to c. 1150.
But while James was a most excellent paleographer and cataloger (and I mean that very strongly -- he catalogued all the early books in the Cambridge libraries and several other places, and his catalogs are still in use today. Interestingly, he was also a successful author of ghost stories and a fantasy novel, The Five Jars), paleography is an imprecise art. MS. O.2.1 is written mostly in Latin (the English poem is an insertion into a Latin text). Latin writing styles changed dramatically between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries -- but only very slightly between the twelfth and thirteenth. A thirteenth century hand would typically be somewhat narrower than a twelfth, and the symbols for abbreviation, if used, were typically less artistic (Thompson, pp. 436-455, esp. p. 450). But the changes were small enough that possibility must always be admitted that a manuscript which appears to date from the twelfth century may in fact be from the thirteenth.
And the content of the manuscript gives two arguments for a later date. One is the inclusion of the "Passion of St Thomas of Canterbury" (James, p. 81). It appears this is in the original hand. The other is a catalog of the Kings of England, ending with Henry III (James, p. 81). James, p. 80, appears to say that this is in a thirteenth century hand. But, given the nature of hands of this period, all we can say with certainty is that it is in a different hand, not that it is later. This is no surprise; the manuscript is very miscellaneous.
Thomas Becket died in 1170, and was canonized in 1173. The main tribute to him was by John of Salisbury (died 1180), who worked under Becket (he was apparently present at the murder) and wrote the Archbishop's life immediately after his martyrdom (Kunitz/Haycraft, p. 292). Other tributes to him would be written in Canterbury or London, not Ely, so we must allow time for a copy to make it to Ely. Henry III ascended in 1216, and died in 1272. His inclusion in the kings list may well be an addition, but this is not certain.
Thus the earliest possible date for our manuscript is c. 1175, and a date fifty or more years later is perfectly possible. If we take the latter date, it eliminates the problem of this alleged carol being so exceptionally early (since we are now only a century or so earlier than "Judas"). But we should not stop with paleographic evidence; we must still look at the internal evidence of the poem.
One point stands out dramatically: Although the poem claims to be by King Canute (Garnett/Gosse, p. 62), and this claim is actually accepted by Garnett/Gosse, *the poem is in Middle English.* Garnett/Gosse note that all but two words of the original are "good modern English." Indeed, allowing for sound shifts, it appears there is only one ("binne," line 1) which is not directly related to its modern English equivalent.
But King Canute, who came to the throne in 1016 and died in 1035, did not speak Middle English. The language did not even exist then -- and Canute, who was a Danish invader, spoke as his native language a form of Old Norse. Old Norse and Old English were close enough that they could sometimes be mutually understood with effort -- but what are the odds that Canute produced a poem even in Old English that could be converted into Middle English? Not even Gummere accepts that part (Gummere, p. 298).
Keen, p. 34, calls it "one of the earliest snatches of genuine popular poetry" but adds "of the post-conquest period."
There appears to be no question but that the manuscript is from Ely. (It would have come to Cambridge after Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries.) It includes a special mark in the margin of the first page which is characteristic of the Ely library, The contents includes a list of obituaries of benefactors and monks of Ely (James, p. 79) and a catalog of bishops and abbots of Ely (James, p. 80). But this raises another interesting question. The song's description of Ely is accurate enough (it is an island). But would the residents of Ely have wanted to remember any associations with Canute in the period immediately after his reign?
It is true that Canute gave substantial gifts to Ely (Hindley, p. 313). This they surely appreciated.
But then things got complicated. There are several reasons why the residents of Ely might not want to remember Canute. For starters, he may have been suspicious of them. A mention in a manuscript from Ely (I *think* the same manuscript as the one containing this song, although the note in Barlow, p. 32, is unclear) says that the future King Edward the Confessor was given to Ely by his parents to be educated as a monk. Barlow, p. 33, goes on to explain why this is effectively impossible. But Edward might have been sheltered there during the Danish invasions (Barlow, pp. 33-34), giving Canute reason to wonder about the monks' loyalty. Could he have rowed by, or visited, for purposes of spying?
Even more complicated is the story of Canute's stepson Alfred.
Canute, when he came to the throne, married as his second wife Emma of Normany, the widow of the old King Ethelred II (O'Brien, pp. ix, xvii). Emma already had two sons (Alfred and Edward) and at least one daughter by Ethelred.
When Canute died, there was a succession crisis, since he had two sons who were possible successors -- one, Harthecanute, by Emma, his more official wife (O'Brien, p. xix) and the older, Harold I Harefoot, by his less official wife Aelgifu, whom Canute had married first, but never put aside when he made Emma his queen (O'Brien, p. xi). Let's put that another way: Aelgifu (the mother of Harold) was Canute's wife even after he married Emma (the mother of Harthecanute), but Aelgifu was never his Queen; Emma held that role. The marriage with Aelgifu seems to have been at least partly for love, that with Emma for politics.
With Canute dead, there arose a Harold/Aelgifu faction and a Harthecanute/Emma faction. In the end, it proved moot -- Harold got the throne first, but died without issue in 1040, and then Harthecanute took the throne and died without issue in 1042. But in 1036, before any of that was sorted out, Alfred, one of Emma's sons by Ethelred, decided to come to England (Humble, p. 174). He was captured, bound, taken to Ely, and blinded (Swanton, pp. 158-160). He would soon die of the wounds he suffered (O'Brien, p. 180). There are no accounts which blame the folk at Ely -- but it must have been a painful memory. If I had been from Ely, I wouldn't want to remember the reign of Canute!
On the other hand, that feeling might fade over time, since Ely did not directly oppose Canute, and many later kings had trouble with the island. Ely for a time was the base of the rebels associated with Hereward the Wake, the last real rebel against William the Conqueror (Keen, pp. 12-13 -- although Keen notes on p. 19 that it was the monks of Ely who negotiated with William to give the place up). Danish invaders also took over Ely for a time (Brondsted, pp. 100-101), so the locals definitely had trouble in the Conqueror's reign.
William the Conqueror's son William Rufus had trouble with just about everyone, so there was nothing special about his problems with Ely -- but no one wanted to remember his reign.
Things were even worse a third of a century later, in the reign of Stephen, who was King from 1135 to 1154. The reason is that Bishop Nigel of Ely opposed Stephen (Bradbury, p. 30). Stephen would in fact attack Ely over their quarrel (Bradbury, p. 78). Later, the active rebel Geoffrey de Mandeville defied Stephen from the area of Ely (Bradbury, p. 130).
Thus, although we cannot prove that the poem was in existence in the twelfth century, there is a fair amount of reason to think it might have been written in the twelfth (which would still make it a century more recent than Canute, and also make it much more likely that it would be in something recognizable as Middle English). By that time, the bad associations with Canute might well have been forgotten by the Ely monks, and the locals might have wanted to remember a king who, if not exactly monogamous, was (other than William the Conqueror) probably the most efficient monarch of the last two centuries. (As Humble notes on p. 46, a typical public relations method for kings was "deliberately evoking memories of the last efficient king to rule." Why wouldn't a monastery do the same? Especially since Canute, after becoming Christian, did become enthusiastic about attending services and supporting the church.)
A case could be made that the piece must date before 1189, when Richard I became king. When he went on crusade, Richard named William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, as one of his justiciars (Gillingham, p. 217) -- i.e. Longchamp ran the country while Richard was away. The flip side is, Longchamp had been named bishop by Richard after Richard had appropriated much of the property of the previous bishop when that bishop died intestate (McLynn, p. 125). And Longchamp proved a very unsuccessful governor. Still, he was from Ely; if the song were composed after Richard's accession, he might have been a logical name to plug in rather than Canute.
I will confess that I can't think of a reason for composing such a piece in the thirteenth century. So the twelfth century date, even though we can't prove it by the manuscript, seems likely. Still, I think we cannot claim this as by Canute, we cannot be certain that it existed before the thirteenth century -- and, frankly, we can't even be sure it's a carol. It's just a fragment of a Middle English poem. It may have passed from scribe to scribe in its day. That hardly makes it a folk song. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: MSMStMoE

Mermaid, The [Child 289]


DESCRIPTION: A group of sailors see a mermaid (meaning that they can expect a shipwreck). Various crew members lament the families they are leaving behind. The ship sinks.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1765?
KEYWORDS: mermaid/man ship sea wreck
FOUND IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,NE,NW,Ro,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (39 citations):
Child 289, "The Mermaid" (6 texts)
Bronson 289, "The Mermaid" (42 versions)
GreigDuncan1 27, "The Mermaid" (8 texts, 3 tunes) {A=Bronson's #16, B=#2, C=#6}
Ord, pp. 333-334, "The Mermaid" (1 text plus a fragment)
SharpAp 42, "The Mermaid" (3 texts plus 1fragment, 4 tunes) {Bronson's #17, #41, #24, #14}
BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 363-368, "The Mermaid" (3 texts plus a fragment and a version from the Forget-me-not Songster, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25}
Flanders-Ancient4, pp. 271-280, "The Mermaid" (4 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) {E=Bronson's #39}
Belden, pp. 101-102, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Randolph 39, "The Wrecked Ship" (3 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #42, #40}
Davis-Ballads 48, "The Mermaid" (8 texts plus 4 fragments, the last of which may not be this song; 2 tunes entitled "The Stormy Winds," "The Mermaid"; 1 more version mentioned in Appendix A) {Bronson's #22, #12}
Davis-More 44, pp. 344-349, "The Mermaid" (3 texts, 1 tune)
BrownII 48, "The Mermaid" (2 texts)
Chappell-FSRA 23, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #9}
Hudson 26, p. 127, "The Mermaid" (1 short text)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 189-190, "TheMermaid" (1 text)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 26, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 106-107, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #31}
Mackenzie 16, "The Royal George" (1 text)
Blondahl, p. 90, "Black Friday" (1 text, 1 tune)
Smith/Hatt, p. 38, "Then Turn Out You Jolly Tars" (1 fragment)
Mackenzie 16, "The Royal George" (1 text)
Thomas-Makin', pp. 34-35, (no title) (1 fragment)
Leach, pp. 673-674, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 404, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
FSCatskills 71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Niles 62, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 70-71, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #36}
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 98-99, "Waves on the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 562-563, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 147-149, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 560, "The Mermaid" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Shay-SeaSongs, p. 124, (no title) (1 fragment, almost certainly of this song)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 71-73, "The Mermaid" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 11, pp. 26-27, "Three Sailor Boys" (1 text)
JHCox 33, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 93, "The Mermaid" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2143, "On a Friday morning we set sail"
DT 289, MERMDFRI* MERMAID3* WAVESSEA* MERMAID5*
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #413, "One Friday Morn" (1 text)
ST C289 (Full)
Roud #124
RECORDINGS:
Emma Dusenberry, "The Mermaid" (AFS, 1936; on LC58) {Bronson's #40}
William Howell, "The Mermaid" (on FSBBAL2)
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "The Mermaid Song" (on BLLunsford01) {cf. Bronson's #32}
New Lost City Ramblers, "Raging Sea" (on NLCR02)
Ernest Stoneman & His Blue Ridge Corn Shuckers, "The Raging Sea, How It Roars" (Victor Vi 21648, 1928) {Bronson's #20}
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 c.17(273), "The Mermaid" ("One Friday morning we set sail"), W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Harding B 11(3641), Harding B 11(3642), 2806 c.17(272), Harding B 11(2228), Harding B 11(2519), Firth c.12(413), 2806 c.17(271), 2806 c.17(275), Harding B 11(2404), Harding B 11(2603), Harding B 11(2403), "The Mermaid"; 2806 c.13(248), Firth c.12(414), Harding B 11(3146), "The Mermaid" or "The Gallant Ship"
LOCSinging, sb20297a, "The Mermaid," H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Three Times Round" (verse form and some lines)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Sinking Ship
Oh, the Lamp Burns Dimly Down Below
The Stormy Winds Do Blow
The Gallant Ship
NOTES: Legend has it that a ship that sees a mermaid will be destroyed. (Some versions say that all aboard are to be drowned as well, but they could hardly drown at the time; else how would anyone know what destroyed the ship?) Ord also notes that it was considered unlucky for ships to sail on a Friday -- and most versions do seem to involve sailing on that day.
One of the verses of this, "three times around went our gallant ship," seems to have circulated independently as a nursery rhyme; see, e.g., Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #862, p. 322.
It is often stated that mermaids were sailors' mistaken impression of manatees or dugongs (so, e.g., Benet, p. 715; Jones-Larousse, p. 300; Pickering, p. 193). But Cordingly, pp. 165-166, makes the noteworthy points that, first, manatees and dugongs aren't very attractive. Second, and even more decisive, dugongs live in the Indian Ocean and in the coastal areas of Indonesia and Australia -- areas European sailors would not have seen. Similarly, manatees are found in Florida, the West Indies, Brazil, and the Congo. Neither mammal is found anywhere near European waters.
In a side note, Dawkins, p. 216, notes that the Afrotheres, which includes the order of Sirenia (dugongs and manatees) are the most remote of all placental mammals from modern humans, having split off from the human lineage more than 100 million years ago. Thus the dugongs and manatees are, logically, the mammals least likely to attract human male interest.
Dawkins himself comments on p. 222 that the sailors "who first spotted the likeness must have been at sea for a very long time." He adds two rather interesting points. First, "Sirenians are, with whales, the only mammals that never come on land at any time." In other words, you will not see a manatee or dugong "sitting on a rock," as in this song. Second, "Their vegetarian died requires an immensely long gut and a low energy budget. The high-speed aquabatics of a carnivorous dolphin contrast dramaticall with the lazy drifting of a vegetarian dugong: guided missile to dirigible balloon." Thus the Sirenians neither look nor act anything like mermaids.
Simpson/Roud, p. 234, make the interesting observation that mermaids seem to have been originally tailless -- an elaboration of the siren legend. (Hence the name Sirenia for the order containing the dugongs and manatees.) Which makes sense -- how could a warm-blooded mammal like a mermaid (and it is obvious that they are mammalian!) have a cold-blooded, scaled fish tail? A dolphin's tail, maybe, but a fish's tail?
Cordingly, p. 168, does note an upsurge in alleged mermaid sightings "during the age of exploration," and cites mentions from seemingly hard-headed observers such as the crew of Henry Hudson. Possibly the dugongs and manatees helped along the transition from siren to creature half-human half-fish -- but even this would be hard to prove. Maybe the sailors were seeing Sirenians -- or maybe their long absence from home made them particularly lusty, and the scurvy they probably experienced made them particularly imaginative. He also notes, p. 169, some instances of people allegedly keeping mermaids. It would be nice if someone had kept a skeleton....
In any case, we see our first half-human half-fish creature in mythology before Europeans reached the seas where the sirenians are found: The demon Melusine/Melusina, who, when first seen, was a beautiful woman Sunday through Friday, but who hid on Saturdays because her half-fish form was revealed (Cordingly, pp. 166-167; Jones-Larousse, p. 298, )- RBW
Creighton-Maritime moves the locale to New York City: "board bill on Fifth Avenue," "sweetheart in Madison's Square," and the wreck [took place] as "we neared Jersey flats, Sandy Hook was on our lea." - BS
Mackenzie's "The Royal George" ("O the Royal George turned round three times") would seem to have adapted "The Mermaid" to the sinking of the Royal George, "flagship of Admiral Kempenfelt, ... on 29 August 1782 with the loss of eight hundred lives, including Admiral Kempenfelt himself." (source: "The Loss of the Royal George" at The Cowper and Newton Museum web page at the Milton Keynes Heritage Association site). You can see William Cowper's poem on the subject at Charles W. Eliot, editor, English Poetry Vol II From Collins to Fitzgerald (New York, 1910), #314, pp. 533-534, "Loss of the Royal George." - BS
I note parenthetically that Keegan, p. 51, spells the name "Kemenfelt." This may be a printing error, however, as the name is used only once, with reference to the revised signal system he invented. Dupuy/Johnson/Bongard gives his dates as 1718-1782, and says of him, "Am intelligent and learned officer, Kempenfelt was noted as a scientist, scholar, and author, known both for his oncern for his men's health and welfare, and for his scholarly approach to naval issues; his success at Ushant showed initiative, daring, and a clear grasp of strategy and tactics."
The Royal George itself, according to Paine, p. 439, was ordered in 1749 but not finished until 1759; she was a first rate battleship, said to be the "first warship to exceed 2,000 tons burden." She fought under Hawke at Quiberon Bay (for which see "Bold Hawke").
Put in the reserve in 1763 with the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, she was put back in commission in 1778 as the French and Americans made war on Britain. She was taking on supplies at Spithead "when on August 29 Royal George was being heeled at a slight angle to make some minor repairs below the waterline. At the same times, casks of rum were being loaded aboard and the lower deck gunports were not properly secured. At about 0920 the ship suddenly rolled over on her beam ends, filled with water, and sank, taking with her 800 people,including as many as 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship." - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: C289

Merman, The (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail) [Laws K24]


DESCRIPTION: The crew is waiting for a breeze to carry them south when a merman appears with a shout. The ship's anchor has stopped his front door! The merman reveals that he is a sailor who was washed overboard. Having married a mermaid, he grew a tail
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1900 (broadside, Bodleian Firth c.26(152))
KEYWORDS: ship mermaid/man
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws K24, "The Merman (Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail)"
Greenleaf/Mansfield 64, "The Pretty Fair Maid with a Tail" (1 text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 131-133, "The Merman" (1 text)
Ranson, pp. 30-31, "The Merman" (1 text)
DT 564, MERMAN
Roud #1898
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.26(152), "The Merman", T. Pearson (Manchester), 1850-1899
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Down in the Diving Bell (The Mermaid (II))" (plot)
cf. "Change Islands Song" (plot)
cf. "Married to a Mermaid" (theme of marrying a mermaid)
File: LK24

Merner Song, The


DESCRIPTION: In November Billy Merner came to Darlingtown and moved in with the Sargents. At Christmas he got drunk, "raked poor Bessie," and left. No one whose "Head is good and sound ... let Will Merner come back to Darlingtown."
AUTHOR: Wilmot MacDonald
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Ives-NewBrunswick)
KEYWORDS: home drink hunting
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ives-NewBrunswick, pp. 83-87, "The Merner Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1950
File: IvNB083

Merrily We Roll Along


See Goodnight Ladies (File: FSWB258A)

Merrimac (I), The


DESCRIPTION: "The Merrimac she went out; The Yankees wa'n't a-thinking. The fust thing the Yankees knew, the Cumberland was a-sinking... Holler, boys, oh, holler! ... You ought to seen her go down." The Merrimac sinks the Congress also
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: battle Civilwar navy war ship
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
March 8, 1862 - U.S. frigates Congress and Cumberland sunk by the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac). The Minnesota runs aground; had not the Monitor arrived the next day, the Merrimac would have sunk that ship also
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 226, "The Merrimac" (1 text, probably fragmentary)
Roud #6569
File: BrII226

Merrimac (II), The


See The Cumberland [Laws A26] (File: LA26)

Merry Bagpipes, The


See The Northumbrian Bagpipes (File: StoR032)

Merry Bloomfield


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

Merry Golden Lee, The


See The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)

Merry Golden Tree, The


See The Golden Vanity [Child 286] (File: C286)

Merry Green Fields of the Lowland, The


See Old MacDonald Had a Farm (File: R457)

Merry Haymakers, The


DESCRIPTION: In (May), the creatures cavort in the fine weather. Assorted men and women join together to cut the hay and frolic. Several are introduced as they arrive. In addition to cutting the fields, they may find other ways of making hay....
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1857 (Bell); c.1720 (broadside, Bodleian Douce Ballads 2(154))
KEYWORDS: farming work love courting
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(England(Lond,South))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
SHenry H697, pp. 278-279, "Tumbling through the Hay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 255, "The Merry Haymakers" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MONTH MAY
Roud #153
RECORDINGS:
Bob & Ron Copper, "The Merry Haymakers" (on FSB3)
Sam Larner, "The Pleasant Month of May" (on Voice05)
Levi Smith, "The Haymakers" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 2(154), "The Merry Hay-makers" or "Pleasant Pastime, Between the Young- Men and Maids, in the Pleasant Meadows" ("In our country, in our country"), S. Bates (London), [c.1720]; also Mus. 1 c.118(6e)[title and many words illegible], "The Merry Hay-makers"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Month of May
NOTES: For another version see Robert Bell, editor, [The Project Gutenberg EBook (1996) of] Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), "The Haymaker's Song" ("In the merry month of June") - BS
File: HHH697

Merry King, The


See Some Rival Has Stolen My True Love Away (The Rifles, The Merry King) (File: BuDa005)

Merry Ma Tanzie, The


See Jingo Ring (Merry-Ma-Tanzie, Around the Ring) (File: Fus173)

Merry Man, The


DESCRIPTION: The singer drinks whisky with friends from morning till night. He hates men too miserly to spend their money on drink. He wants no crying or paid keeners at his wake: everyone should toast his journey. All should sing when carrying his body to the grave.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1820 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 25(549))
KEYWORDS: death money drink nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Croker-PopularSongs, pp. 101-105, "The Merry Man" (1 text)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(549), "Drinking Song" ("I am a young fellow that loves to be mellow"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819
File: CrPS101

Merry May the Keel Row


See The Keel Row (File: StoR041)

Merry May the Maid Be


DESCRIPTION: "Merry may the maid be that marrys the miller." Jamie wooed the singer; she was impressed by his home, animals, and food. Her mother advised her to marry. Now her mother is happy with them. "Who'd be a king a petty thing when a miller lives sae happy"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1796 (Scots Musical Museum #123)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage food animal mother miller
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #56, p. 2, ("Merry may the maid be") (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan3 453, "Merry May the Maid Be" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5656
NOTES: Greig in 1908: ." .. an old song that appeared in the Charmer about 150 years ago." - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3453

Merry Shanty Boys, The


DESCRIPTION: "We are a band of shanty boys, as merry as can be, No matter where we go, my boys, We're always gay and free." The men go out in the morning to cut the trees, sharpen their axes and relax in the evening, bring the logs to market, and celebrate
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (Rickaby), from a nineteenth-century broadside
KEYWORDS: logger work food nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Rickaby 31, "The Merry Shanty Boys" (1 text)
NOTES: Rickaby prints this, but it appears to be entirely from print. And, despite his comment about its quality, it strikes me as something no shantyman would actually sing. - RBW
File: Rick122

Messenger Song, The


DESCRIPTION: The horse, a descendent of Messenger, reports on its frisky behavior with its handlers. They respond by beating the animal. It breaks down the door and flees; it boasts of its new freedom and its abilities
AUTHOR: John Calhoun?
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: horse abuse escape freedom
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doerflinger, p. 266, "The Messenger Song" (1 text)
Manny/Wilson 33, "The Messenger Song (John Calhoun's Colt)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe266a (Partial)
Roud #4166
NOTES: Messenger was a famous horse of the nineteenth century; Manny and Wilson note that he "was foaled in 1780, imported to the United States in 1788, and died in 1808, leaving a large progeny."
This song is item dH49 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
File: Doe266a

Met Mister Rabbit


DESCRIPTION: "Met Mister Rabbit one night, All dressed in his plug hat, He turned his nose up in the air, Said, 'I'se gwine to Julia's ball, So good night, possums all."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal dancing
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 176, (no title) (1 short text)
File: ScaNF176

Metamorphoses, Les (Metamorphoses)


DESCRIPTION: French. The male magician is trying to seduce the female. She will be game in a pond and he will hunt her.... She will die and go to heaven and he will be St Peter to open the door. She says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage rape seduction shape-changing magic
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf,West) US(MW)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Peacock, pp. 788-789, "Je me mettrai gibier dans un etang" (1 text, 1 tune)
BerryVin, p. 42, "La Chanson des Metamorphoses (The Song of Transformation)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune); also p. 64, "J'ai fait une maitresse (I've Found a Maiden)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Twa Magicians" [Child 44] (theme)
cf. "Un Canadien Errant" (tune of "La Chanson des Metamorphoses" in BerryVin)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Si tu reviens Dimanche
NOTES: Child, in his notes to The Twa Magicians [Child 44] gives an extensive description of this ballad [in] the French form. He cites 14 sources, often with names that translate along the lines of "Transformations," "The Mistress Won," and "The Pursuit of Love." Incidentally, he notes that the "French ballad generally begins with a young man's announcing that he has won a mistress, and he intends to pay her a visit on Sunday...."
In that connection, the Brandon [Manitoba] University site for the journal Ecclectica inludes two verses of the ballad, collected in Manitoba, under the title "Si tu reviens dimanche" (If you return Sunday), "The Songs of Their Fathers" by Lynn Whidden, Ecclectica, August 2003
Peacock's version is not as complete as Child's summary. The male verses end "par amitie" (by friendship) while the female verses end "Tout ce que t'auras de moi aucun agrement" (what you have of me is without my agreement). She will be game in a pond and he will hunt her. She will be a rose and he will be a fireman to warm her. She will be the moon and he will be a cloud to cover her. She will become sick and he will be a doctor to cure her. She will die and go to heaven and he will be St Peter to open the door.
Peacock ends here but, according to Child, "she says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another; or more complaisantly, Je me donnerai a toi, puisque tu m'aimes tant." - BS
BerryVin suggests the theme is found "in the folk-lore of France, Canada, and southwestern Louisiana." No documentation other than the songs in that book, though. The two songs listed there share several verses but have quite different tunes, though both are in 3/8; "La Chanson des Metamorphoses" uses the tune of "Un Canadien Errant". - PJS
Last updated in version 25
File: Pea788

Methodist Pie


DESCRIPTION: The singer attends a camp meeting and reports on the goings-on. (S)he enjoys food and music greatly. (S)he maintains, "Oh, little children, I believe (x3); I'm a Methodist till I die...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1912 (Perrow)
KEYWORDS: music religious
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Randolph 291, "Methodist Pie" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 248-250, "Methodist Pie" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 291A)
DT, METHPIE
Roud #7823
RECORDINGS:
Ashley's Melody Men, "Methodist Pie" (Victor 23661, 1932)
Bob Atcher, "Methodist Pie" (Columbia 20482, 1948; rec. 1947)
Gene Autry, "Methodist Pie" (Oriole 8103, c. 1932)
Bradley Kincaid, "Methodist Pie" (Gennett 6417/Champion 15631 [as Dan Hughey]/Supertone 9210/Silvertone 8220, 1928) (Brunswick 420/Supertone S-2018, 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Hard Trials" (floating verses)
File: R291

Mexico, The


DESCRIPTION: Mexico is wrecked on Keeragh rocks when the captain "lost his bearings." Fourteen Fethard men set out to rescue the crew "but their boat was smashed upon the rocks": Nine are drowned; the remaining five get the crew to an island and 12 are rescued.
AUTHOR: John Codd
EARLIEST DATE: 1937 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor rescue
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Feb 20-21, 1914 - The Mexico wreck
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, pp. 28-30, "The Mexico" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (I)" (subject)
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (II)" (subject)
cf. "The Fethard Life-Boat Crew (III)" (subject)
cf. "Loss of the Life-Boat Crew at Fethard" (subject)
NOTES: February 20, 1914: "Nine members of the Fethard lifeboat were drowned when going to the assistance of the Norwegian steamer Mexico.... Eight of the Mexico's crew were saved by the five lifeboat survivors. All but one of the stranded survivors were saved with great difficulty the next day." (source: Bourke in Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast v1, pp. 52-53) - BS
We note that at least four poems were written about this disaster (see the cross-references); one suspects a campaign to raise money for someone's family. - RBW
File: Ran028

Mhaighdean Mara, An (The Mermaid)


DESCRIPTION: Irish Gaelic. Blond Mary Chinidh, whose mother is a mermaid, swims Lake Erne forever. She loves blond sailor Patrick.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (recording, Kitty Gallagher)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love nonballad supernatural family mother mermaid/man
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Tunney-StoneFiddle, p. 58, "An Mhaighdean Mara" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Kitty Gallagher, "An Mhaighdean Mhara (The Mermaid Song)" [fragment] (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742)
NOTES: The description follows the translation for "An Mhaighdean Mara" at Clannad on Celtic Lyrics Corner site. - BS
Paul Stamler gives this description of Kitty Gallagher's version, which is however a translation of an excerpt of a fragment: "The singer, Mary Heeney, having swum the Erne, speaks to her girl Maire and (husband?) Patrick. Maire then speaks, saying that her mother was a mermaid." - PHS, (RBW)
File: TSF058

Michael Boylan


DESCRIPTION: Boylan, a United man, is taken prisoner to Drogheda June 3. Dan Kelly swears falsely that Boylan had 10,000 at his command "to assist the French invaders as soon as they would land ... and the jury cried out, Boylan you must die by martial laws"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1798 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: rebellion betrayal execution prison Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 22, 1798 - Michael Boylan is hanged at the Tholsel, Drogheda. (source: Moylan)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Zimmermann 15, "Michael Boylan" (1 text, 1 tune)
Moylan 66, "In Collon I Was Taken" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: "Michael Boylan" has the form of a gallows-confession except that the condemned man is a hero rather than a criminal. We have the usual farewell to an "aged father" and mother and the final request that "good Christians pray for me."
Moylan's account of the event has Kelly, the informer, enraged by Boylan's defection: Boylan was supposed to lead the pikemen to fight on Tara May 23, 1798 but, on that night, he refused to leave his house. - BS
Drogheda, we note, is in County Louth, near the border with Meath, north of Dublin and at the southern edge of Ulster. Collon is about a dozen miles north and west of there, again in County Louth.
Unless Boylan was taken far away from the city where he was tried, the charges against him do sound exaggerated; there weren't that many active rebels in that area. The nearest rebel activity was in County Meath, and that pretty feeble. - RBW
File: Zimm015

Michael Davitt


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, the Lords and and the Commons, Bill Gladstone and Bright" passed Coercion "and arrests and evictions are going on still." Davitt, Dillon, Parnell, "Kettle and Brennan, and two hundred more" are arrested. "[T]he land it is ours and we mean to be free"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1881 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: prison farming Ireland political
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 80, "A New Song on Michael Davitt" (1 text, 1 tune)
BROADSIDES:
cf. "The Blackbird of Avondale" or "The Arrest of Parnell" (subject)
cf. "The Land League's Advice to the Tenant Farmers of Ireland" (subject)
cf. "Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore" (subject of Michael Davitt)
cf. "Garryowen (II)" (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 40(17))
NOTES: Bodleian, Harding B 40(17), "A New Song on Michael Davitt ("Then up with the flag, raised by Davitt, our head"), J.F. Nugent and Co.? (Dublin?), 1850-1899 is apparently this ballad but I could not download the image to verify that. It has the tune as "Garryowen."
"A Coercion Act, I should explain, is defined to be a statute which is not a part of the general law, but applies only to some specified portion of the kingdom. And within the limits to which it applies it arms the police with powers unknown to the ordinary law, and sometimes foreign to the spirit of that law." (source: The Lighter Side of My Official Life by Sir Robert Anderson, 1910 on the Casebook site re Jack the Ripper).
In 1881 Gladstone established "the Irish Coercion Act that let the Viceroy detain people for as 'long as was thought necessary.'" (source: "William Ewart Gladstone" in Wikipedia)
Zimmermann: "A.J Kettle and Thomas Brennan were Land Leagers arrested in 1881.... John Dillon was arrested in May 1881, but was released later on grounds of ill-health."
Zimmermann p.281: "Michael Davitt, who had been sentenced in 1870 to fifteen years' penal servitude for his share in the Fenian movement and released in 1877, was re-arrested in February 1881. Released in 1882, he was again prosecuted for seditious speeches and imprisoned for four months in 1883 ...." - BS
Considering that Gladstone worked for most of his career trying to improve conditions in Ireland, and passed much relief legislation, and on one occasion lost a confidence vote over a proposal for Home Rule, this is a pretty unfair accusation. It was the Tories who opposed rights for Ireland (Lyons, pp. 182-187, especially p. 183). Yes, Gladstone at times was forced to clamp the lid down, but it was hardly something he desired. Unfortunately, he inherited an Ireland which was in turmoil over tenants' rights (see, e.g., "The Bold Tenant Farmer"). He also had to contend with the Phoenix Park Murders (see the notes to "The Phoenix Park Tragedy"). The situation was bad enough that any government would have been forced into a crackdown.
John Bright (1811-1889) is a more confusing case: He was a pacifist, but an imperialist, and supported more freedom for Ireland and India, but opposed Home Rule in 1886.
Michael Davitt (1846-1906), having seen his family evicted from their land at five and then lost his arm in an industrial accident at the age of 12 (Kee, p. 74), started out as a radical, and though he moderated over the years, he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 1870. Released after half that time, he allied with Charles Stewart Parnell to form the Land League, though they would later fall out violently. He was imprisoned again from 1881-1882, this time apparently for more conservative views. (Altogether he is a very confusing figure, at least to me.) In 1886, he supported home rule (Kee, p. 119).
His popularity is a bit ironic, given that he was anti-clerical and inclined toward socialist solutions.
For more on Davitt, see the notes to "The Bold Tenant Farmer" and "Erin's Lament for her Davitt Asthore."
John Dillon (1851-1927) came from a wealthy background but spent most of his life campaigning for land reform; he was four times imprisoned despite spending most of the years 1880-1918 in parliament (OxfordCompanion, p. 148).
For Parnell (1846-1891), see the various songs in the cross-references.
The other imprisoned Land Leaguers, Kettle and Brennan, were not noteworthy enough to show up in the histories I checked. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Zimm080

Michael Dwyer (I)


DESCRIPTION: "At length brave Michael Dwyer and his undaunted men Were scented o'er the mountains and tracked into the glen." Dwyer and three men are trapped by the British in a house afire. One, wounded, tries to delay the police, but only Dwyer escapes
AUTHOR: Timothy Daniel Sullivan (1827-1914)
EARLIEST DATE: 1901 (O'Conor)
KEYWORDS: Ireland rebellion police escape death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
February 15, 1799 - Michael Dwyer escapes from the Glengarry Regiment (source: Moylan)
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
O'Conor, pp. 44-45, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text)
Moylan 142, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 30, "Michael O'Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
PGalvin, pp. 95-96, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5219
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "Michael O'Dwyer" (on IRTLenihan01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (II)" (subject)
cf. "Captain Dwyer" (subject)
cf. "Michael Dwyer's Lament" (subject)
cf. "The Mountain Men" (subject)
cf. "Twenty Men from Dublin Town" (subject)
NOTES: Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards."
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan: "Michael Dwyer (1771-1826) is a genuinely romantic figure in Irish history. An outlaw 'on his keeping' in the Wicklow hills after the rebellion of 1798 he is remembered by the folk is the same light as Robin Hood or Jessie James are in other traditions." - BS
Sullivan is the author of a number of Irish patriotic poems, of which "God Save Ireland" is probably the best-known. Dwyer also attracted the attention of that militant writer, Peadar Kearney, who produced the Irish national anthem "The Soldier's Song," as well as such pieces as "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)."
As a historical figure, Dwyer was less important; of the five histories I checked, only Robert Kee's The Green Flag mentions him, and only to note that he was a Catholic (unlike many leaders of the 1798 rebellion), and that after the United Irish collapse, he fought on in the Wicklow Mountains until about the time of Robert Emmet's rebellion.
According to the Oxford Companion to Irish History, his dates were 1771-1826; he surrendered to the British in 1803 and was transported to Australia. He became High Constable of Sydney in 1815. He does not seem to have been notable in that post (none of my histories of Australia mention him) -- but I find it somewhat ironic to imagine the former outlaw commanding the forces responsible for tracking down outlaws and bushrangers. - RBW
File: PGa095

Michael Dwyer (II)


DESCRIPTION: "Have you heard of Michael Dwyer and his mountain men?' Dwyer fought when "our flag went down And the nation's hope was banished." Ireland won't have Liberty again "till we strike like Michael Dwyer and his mountain men"
AUTHOR: Peadar Kearney (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion nonballad patriotic Ireland
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 143, "Michael Dwyer" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (I)" (subject of Michael Dwyer) and references there
NOTES: Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards." - BS
Peadar Kearny was the author of, among other things, the Irish national anthem "The Soldier's Song," as well as such pieces as "Whack Fol the Diddle (God Bless England)"; for more on him, see the notes to the latter song. It is perhaps no surprise to find him writing in praise of a covert warrior. Dwyer also attracted the attention of T. D. Sullivan, author of "God Save Ireland," who wrote "Michael Dwyer (I)."
As a historical figure, Dwyer was less important; of the five histories I checked, only Robert Kee's The Green Flag mentions him, and only to note that he was a Catholic (unlike many leaders of the 1798 rebellion), and that after the United Irish collapse, he fought on in the Wicklow Mountains until about the time of Robert Emmet's rebellion.
According to the Oxford Companion to Irish History, his dates were 1771-1826; he surrendered to the British in 1803 and was transported to Australia. He became High Constable of Sydney in 1815. He does not seem to have been notable in that post (none of my histories of Australia mention him) -- but I find it somewhat ironic to imagine the former outlaw commanding the forces responsible for tracking down outlaws and bushrangers. - RBW
File: Moyl143

Michael Dwyer's Lament


DESCRIPTION: "To Wicklow's Glens he'd started, from Father Murphy parted." Michael Dwyer continues the fight from the mountains. Some 1798 battles and United Men are listed: "Their Cause it could have gained, then, a Liberty for all!"
AUTHOR: Mick Fowler (source: Moylan)
EARLIEST DATE: 2000 (Moylan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion Ireland nonballad patriotic
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1798 - Irish rebellion against British rule
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Moylan 145, "Michael Dwyer's Lament" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Michael Dwyer (I)" (subject of Michael Dwyer) and references there
NOTES: Moylan: "This song ... was written in 1998 by Dublin singer Mick Fowler."
Moylan: "Michael Dwyer was a Wicklow man, a member of the United Irishmen, who fought during the 1798 rebellion, and who waged a guerilla war in the Wicklow mountains for several years afterwards." - BS
For background on Dwyer -- and his eventual surrender to the British authorities -- see the notes to "Michael Dwyer (I)" or "Michael Dwyer (II)." - RBW
File: Moyl145

Michael Finnegan


DESCRIPTION: Of the exploits of Michael Finnegan, constantly urged to "begin again" after a variety of escapades such as the wind blowing his whiskers back into his chin, or growing fat and then growing thin
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1971
KEYWORDS: nonballad nonsense humorous
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 242, "Michael Finnigan" (1 text)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 201, "Michael Finnigan" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MIKFINEG
Roud #10541
NOTES: It perhaps says something about the American education system that this song was forced upon me in grade school, but the schools would never have even contemplated a serious ballad with something resembling actual content.... - RBW
File: FSWB242B

Michael FinnIgan


See Michael Finnegan (File: FSWB242B)

Michael James


DESCRIPTION: "I'm as happy as can be, Faith, there is merriment in me," because the singer, when he came home, found he was the father of a boy. He had waited ten years for his first child. He will name the boy Michael James, and boasts of how he will care for it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922 (Dean)
KEYWORDS: baby father
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Dean, p. 77, "Michael James" (1 text)
Roud #9566
File: Dean077

Michael O'Brien


DESCRIPTION: "Come all you girls ... A man like me with property free -- how can you pass him by?" He lists his assets. But "the girls won't keep my company, they say my breath is bad ... So I'll take a stroll for the good of my soul and see my neighbor's wife"
AUTHOR: Larry Gorman
EARLIEST DATE: 1957 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: courting bragging humorous nonballad bachelor
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ives-DullCare, pp. 52-53, 249, "Michael O'Brien" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13990
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Bachelor's Hall (III)"
NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "It's worth pointing out that this song exhibits three Gorman hallmarks. First, it is about a man looking for a wife. Second, like 'Bachelor's Hall,' it develops its theme through a list of possessions. And third, it is said to have been made up on someone who had asked Gorman to song someone else." - BS
File: IvDC052

Michael O'Dwyer


See Michael Dwyer (I) (File: PGa095)

Michael Power


DESCRIPTION: "On my road to Dungarvan" Michael Power finds a pistol, holds up a postboy and a dragoon, kills four yeomen on the road, twelve more in Carrick and Carey the hangman. He goes to Fulham barracks where he is convicted and sentenced to be hanged.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1976 (recording, Straighty Flanagan)
KEYWORDS: rebellion execution trial humorous outlaw
FOUND IN: Ireland
Roud #8141
RECORDINGS:
Straighty Flanagan, "Michael Power" (on Voice08)
NOTES: Hall, notes to Voice08, describes "Michael Power" as "a humorous unlikely tale of fiction, ... set in the counties of Waterford and Wexford in those dangerous times of 1798." - BS
File: RcMicPow

Michael, Row the Boat Ashore


DESCRIPTION: "Michael, row the boat ashore, (h)allelujah" (x2). Remaining verses tend to be about the difficulty of crossing (Jordan) to heaven: "Jordan's river is chilly and cold, (h)allelujah; Chills the body but not the soul...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen, Ware, Garrison)
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad travel river ship work worksong floatingverses shanty
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, pp. 23-24, "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" (2 texts, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 75, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 97, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (1 text)
DT, MICHAELR
Roud #11975
RECORDINGS:
Jane Hunter & Moving Star Hall singers, "Row, Michael, Row" (on BeenStorm1)
Pete Seeger, "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore" (on PeteSeeger12) (on PeteSeeger15)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I'm Crossing Jordan River" (floating lyrics)
cf. "All My Trials" (lyrics)
cf. "Is Your Lamps Gone Out?" (lyrics)
NOTES: Seeger dates this Georgia sea islands worksong from the mid-19th century. - PJS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: DTmichae

Michie Preval


DESCRIPTION: Creole French: "Michie Preval li donne youn bai..." Preval hosts a ball, charging three dollars for admission. The festivities reach the stable, where the horses are "astonished." The prison warden likes it so much that he is tempted to stage his own ball
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1867 (Allen/Ware/Garrison)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage party animal clothes
FOUND IN: US West Indies
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Allen/Ware/Garrison, p. 111, "Calinda" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 213-214, "Michie Preval" (1 text plus translation, 1 tune)
Courlander-NFM, pp. 166-167, (no title) (1 text plus literal translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: Lomax and Courlander accent the name of the title character differently (Lomax: Michié Préval; Courlander, Michié Preval), but the plot is the same in both versions of the song. The earliest version, Allen/Ware/Garrison's, agrees with Lomax. - RBW
File: CNFM166

Michigan-I-O


See Canaday-I-O/Michigan-I-O/Colley's Run I-O [Laws C17] (File: LC17)

Michigania


DESCRIPTION: "Come all ye Yankee farmers who would like to change your lot." The singer lists the problems with life in various parts of the country (from cold Vermont to "the land of Blue Laws" to tax-heavy Massachusetts) and urges listeners to come to "Michigania"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939
KEYWORDS: home nonballad
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 555-556, "Michigania" (1 text)
Roud #4745
File: BNEF555

Mick Magee


DESCRIPTION: Magee is a dealer in tobacco and tea who does not bother with licenses. Accidentally taking his wares to a police station, he is pursued by the force. He lends his bag to a beggar and lets himself be trapped. Since he has nothing illegal, he is released
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: commerce trick police escape
FOUND IN: Ireland Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
SHenry H740, pp. 56-57, "Mick Magee" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 74, "Mick McGee" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST HHH740 (Partial)
Roud #2764
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Mick McGee
File: HHH740

Mick McGee


See Mick Magee (File: HHH056)

Mick McGuire


See Let Mr. McGuire Sit Down (File: RcLMMSD)

Mick Riley


DESCRIPTION: "'Twas in the summer season in the year of seventy-six" the singer fished one summer on Ocean Lark, whose owner is a cobbler in winter. The song claims this cobbler is a cheat and robber and will be so until "he'll find himself in Hell's eternal flames"
AUTHOR: Larry Gorman
EARLIEST DATE: 1958 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: greed thief fishing ship humorous
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ives-DullCare, p. 87, "Mick Riley" (1 text)
Roud #14003
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Gull Decoy" (characters)
NOTES: Ives-DullCare: "This song was about the Gull Decoy's son Mick, who, during the off-season, worked as a cobbler." See the notes to "The Gull Decoy" for another example of Gorman's reputed vindictiveness. - BS
File: IvDC087

Mickey Free


DESCRIPTION: "I'm from the town of Banjor, down in the state of Maine, A native American Irishman That spakes the English plain." The singer arrives in Stilliwater and works in many logging camps (in Wisconsin). He considers taking up farming in Bashaw.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1965 (Dunn, _The St. Croix_, from an uncited source)
KEYWORDS: logging work travel farming
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: James Taylor Dunn, _The St. Croix: Midwest Border River_, reprint edition with new introduction published 1979 by the Minnesota Historical Society press, pp. 254-256, "Mickey Free" (1 text)
NOTES: The only printed version of this seems to be Dunn's, and Dunn, unfortunately, gives very little information about this song; he says it "first made its appearance" in Taylors Falls (on the St. Croix) in 1878, and in the introduction to the revised 1979 edition of his book, says on p. xi that the song describes the life of Ed Hart. Since, however, Dunn gives no real biographical information about Hart, this is little help.
The song does seem a very Midwestern product. Other than Bangor, Maine, and Stillwater, Minnesota, every place mentioned is in northwestern Wisconsin. The spots mentioned are all in the region north of Hayward, south of Ashland, west of Spooner, and east of the St. Croix -- and all are small and require a very detailed map to locate.
Namekegon is a town and a river. The river flows through Hayward to join the St. Croix just north and east of the point where the St. Croix ceases to mark the Minnesota/Wisconsin border. Namekegon town is on Garden Lake about half way between Hayward and Ashland.
Clam Lake is a lake and down. The lake is near Siren, not far from the St. Croix, and is on the Clam River. Clam Lake the town is not on the Clam River; it is about ten miles ESE of Namekegon town.
The Yellow River (and Yellow Lake) are almost due north of Clam Lake the Lake, the lake being about five miles from the St. Croix town of Danbury.
Tototatic is a river that is a tributary of the Namekegon, and there is a Totogatic Lake north of Hayward.
Bashaw, where the singer expects to settle, is a very small town -- or perhaps "region" is the right word -- about five miles WNW of Shell Lake and not too far from the Yellow River. Since it is not very good farming country, I would suggest a slight possibility that this should be emended to Wabasha, Minnesota.
Overall, the plot of this song is pretty clear. The singer's story begins in 1853 in Stillwater. Stillwater -- founded in 1843 and incorporated in 1854 -- was in its early years a logging center and one of the chief towns of what was then Minnesota Territory. It was also the northernmost town on the St. Croix -- the only convenient way to reach the areas in Wisconsin mentioned in the song, especially in the early 1850s before the Soo Canal opened. The singer came from Maine to Minnesota in 1853, worked in the lumber camps for a couple of dozen years, and at the time the song ends is contemplating retirement. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: JTDST254

Mickey's Warning


See Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk (Mickey's Warning) (File: RcBlBlBl)

Middlesex Flora, The


DESCRIPTION: Bound from London in a storm, "the proud waves did beat her to staves, her name was The Middlesex Flora, and they did sweep our men to the deep." Strangers on the coast pick up the rich cargo. Captain James Bell and the lost crew of thirteen are named.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1876 (Christie)
KEYWORDS: drowning sea ship storm wreck sailor shore
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1825: "Middlesex Flora of London was wrecked at Dundrum... en route from Barcelona to Belfast.... Twenty four were drowned." (source: Bourke in _Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast_ v2, p. 25; Irish Wrecks Online site)
FOUND IN: Ireland Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig #63, pp. 2-3, "The Middlesex Flora" (1 text)
GreigDuncan1 29, "The Middlesex Flora" (5 texts, 4 tunes)
Ranson, pp. 72-74, "The Middlesex Flora" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: W. Christie, editor, Traditional Ballad Airs (Edinburgh, 1876 (downloadable pdf by University of Edinburgh, 2007)), Vol I, pp. 254-255, 294, "The Middlesex Flora" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #3810
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth c.12(119), "The Middlesex Flora," H. Such (London), 1863-1885
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Mariposa" (theme)
cf. "The Teapots at the Fire" (theme)
cf. "The Old Mayflower" (theme)
cf. "The Irrawaddy" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Downs
NOTES: Christie: "The Editor was informed by a native of the Enzie, who died in 1847, aged 85 years, that he heard "The Middlesex Flora" sung by two sailors on the streets of Buckie about the year 1780." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ran072

Middletack Cliack


DESCRIPTION: The singer, a miller, is invited to "a meal and ale" at Middletack farm. "When we got the lasses out we did commence to dance." He names some of the "pretty charming maids" and some of the men. The party ended peacefully after three o'clock.
AUTHOR: John Sim (composed 1860) (source: GreigDuncan3)
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: dancing drink food party moniker
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 631, "Middletack Cliack" (1 text)
Roud #6066
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Castles in the Air" (tune, per GreigDuncan3)
NOTES: GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Middletack (631) is at coordinate (h6,v0) on that map [roughly 35 miles N of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3631

Midnight


DESCRIPTION: "Under this sod lies a great bucking horse. There never lived a cowboy he couldn't toss. His name was Midnight, his coat black as coal, If there's a hoss heaven, please, God, rest his soul."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: horse death recitation
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1924 - First appearance of the bucking horse "Midnight" at the Calgary Stampede
1933 - Midnight is retired
1936 - Death of Midnight. This poem was reportedly inscribed on his monument
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ohrlin-HBT 80, "Midnight" (1 text)
File: Ohr080

Midnight Dew, The


See Nine Hundred Miles (File: LxU073)

Midnight Special, The


DESCRIPTION: "Let the Midnight Special shine its light on me; Let the Midnight Special shine its ever-loving light on me." The prisoner describes how he was arrested, the difficult conditions in prison, and a visit from his girlfriend
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (recording, Dave Cutrell)
KEYWORDS: prison hardtimes warning crime police train
FOUND IN: US(SE,So)
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 478-484, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 292, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, pp. 26-27, "The Midnight Special"; 217, "Midnight Special" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 91, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 71-75, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 70-71, "Yon' Come Roberta" (1 text, 1 tune. The song lacks a chorus and the tune is "completely different," according to Jackson, but most of the lyrics belong here); pp. 92-93, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune, unusually full)
Botkin-AmFolklr, pp. 908-909, "The Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Arnett, p. 142-143, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
PSeeger-AFB, p. 55, "Midnight Special" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 71, "Midnight Special" (1 text)
DT, MDNTSPCL
Roud #6364
RECORDINGS:
Jesse Bradley, "Midnight Special" (AFS 218 A1, 1934)
Dillard Chandler, "Gastony Song" (on Chandler01)
Dave Cutrell (known as "Pistol Pete") with McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" (OKeh 45057, 1926); McGinty's Oklahoma Cowboy Band (now led by Otto Gray), "The Midnight Special" (Vocalion 5337; c. 1929)
Folkmasters, "The Midnight Special" (on Fmst01)
Frank Jordan & Group, "Midnight Special" (AFS 619 A1, 1936)
Leadbelly & the Golden Gate Quartet, "The Midnight Special" (Victor 27266, 1941; rec. 1940)
Pete Seeger, "The Midnight Special" (on PeteSeeger18) (on PeteSeeger26) (on PeteSeeger43)
Pete Seeger & Big Bill Broonzy, "The Midnight Special" (on BroonzySeeger1) (on BroonzySeeger2)
[Wilmer] Watts & [Frank] Wilson, "Walk Right In Belmont" (Paramount 3019, 1927; on TimesAint04)
Ernest Williams, "Midnight Special" (AFS CYL-11-5, 1933)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Jumpin' Judy"
cf. "Mississippi Jail House Groan" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Early in the Morning (IV -- prison song)" (lyrics)
NOTES: I seem to recall a legend that, should the light of the Midnight Special shine on a convict, he would soon be freed. I can'r remember where I heard this, though. I've more recently found this mentioned in Sing Out magazine, Volume 37, #2 (1992), pp, 54, but I'm sure I heard it somewhere else. That issue of Sing Out refers to another legend, in which highly favored convicts were allowed visits from prostitutes brought in on a special train. (The problem with this, of course, is that someone had to pay the prostitutes, so I rather doubt it.)
Carl Sandburg, on the other hand, believes that the song refers to suicide: That the convict would rather be dead under the wheels of the train than spend another twenty years in prison.
Cohen quotes Mack McCormick to the effect that several versions show localization to an unsuccessful 1923 jailbreak, but offers evidence that the song, or at least pieces of it, are much older. The version he prints, "Pistol Pete's Midnight Special" by Dave Cutrell, has several verses not heard in the common Leadbelly version. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.4
File: R292

Midnight Train and the 'Fo' Day Train, The


See The Midnight Train (File: San325)

Midnight Train, The


DESCRIPTION: "The midnight train and the fo' day train run all night long (x2) They run till the break of day." "'Twas the same train carried yo' mother 'way, run all night long (x2) It run until the break of day."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: train mother
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Sandburg, p. 325, "The Midnight Train" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 240-241, "The Midnight Train and the 'Fo' Day Train" (1 short text, 1 tune)
ST San325 (Full)
File: San325

Mighty Bright Light


DESCRIPTION: First verse/chorus: "(It was) a mighty bright light that was shining down." "Oh, tell me who was that light that was shining down?" "King Jesus was the light that was shining down." "My mother saw the light that was shining down...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (recorded by Texas state farm prisoners)
KEYWORDS: worksong chaingang religious
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Courlander-NFM, p. 101, "(Mighty Bright Light)" (1 text)
RECORDINGS:
Texas state farm prisoners, "Mighty Bright Light" (on NPCWork)
NOTES: A work song, with the gang joining in on the word "down," perhaps striking the hammer at that point. - RBW
File: CNFM101

Mighty Day (Wasn't That a Mighty Storm)


DESCRIPTION: The story of the Galveston tidal wave. Despite evacuation efforts, many die on land and at sea. Chorus something like, "Wasn't that a mighty day/storm, when the storm winds struck/swept the town."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: storm disaster death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sep 8, 1900 - Galveston hurricane and flood. Some 6000 die
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 728, "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm!" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 53, "Mighty Day" (1 text)
DT, MIGHTDAY
Roud #12206
RECORDINGS:
"Sin-Killer" Griffin & congregation, "Wasn't That a Mighty Storm" (AFS 185 B2, 1934; on LC10)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Wasn't That a Mighty Time (Galveston Flood)" (subject, floating lyrics)
NOTES: This song shares many of its lyrics, and even some musical elements, with "Wasn't That a Mighty Time (Galveston Flood)." It is quite likely that the two have common roots. The "feel" of the resulting songs is so different, however, that I list them as separate pieces.
The "popular" version, as recorded by the Chad Mitchell trio, reportedly was touched up somewhat by Bob Gibson. - RBW
In the LC version... the chorus is: "Wasn't that a mighty storm/Wasn't that a mighty storm, great water/Wasn't that a mighty storm/That blew the people away." - PJS
File: BSoF728

Mighty Maulin', A


See Fod (File: LoF213)

Mighty Mississippi


DESCRIPTION: "Way out in the Mississippi valley, Just along the plain so grand, Rose the flooded Mississippi River, Destroying the works of man." The Mississippi River flood of 1927 is described, and the plight of those flooded out detailed
AUTHOR: Words: Kelly Harrell
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (recording, Ernest Stoneman)
KEYWORDS: flood river disaster
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 87, "Mighty Mississippi" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MGHTYMSS*
RECORDINGS:
New Lost City Ramblers, "Mighty Mississippi" (on NLCR02)
Mike Seeger, "The Story of the Mighty Mississippi" (on MSeeger01)
Ernest Stoneman, "The Story of the Mighty Mississippi" (Victor 20671, 1927)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Great American Flood Disaster" (subject)
NOTES: Kelly Harrell wrote this poem but never attempted to record it (shows how different attitudes toward composed songs were back then); it was Ernest Stoneman who took the piece, found a traditional tune for it, and recorded the result. - RBW
And the recording was out within a few months of the disaster -- probably by September, 1927. - PJS
According to Kip Lornell, Virginia's Blues, Country & Gospel Records 1902-1943, the recording session was even more timely: It was made May 21, 1927. Stoneman also cut "Jim Hoover's Mississippi Flood Song" in that session, but Victor declined to issue it. - RBW
File: CSW087

Mike


DESCRIPTION: "Section men a-workin' there all side by side." One of them, Mike, boasts of his work on the railroad. He works and fights hard. One day he works in the jimson, picks up a crosstie, is attacked by a snake, and flees
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: work railroading animal
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
May 1869 - Transcontinental railroad complete
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, p. 23, "Mike" (1 text)
Roud #15523
NOTES: The chorus of this piece runs, "Damned be the President, My name's Mike, I got a hand in it, I drive the spike." I assume this refers to the famous "driving of the golden spike" (May 10, 1869 in Promontory, Utah), completing the first transcontinental railroad. This is only a guess, though. - RBW
File: LxA023

Milatraisse Courri Dans Bal


DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Militraisse courri dans bal, Cocodrie po'te fanal, Trouloulou! C'est pas zaffaire a tou (x2), Trouloulou!" The mixed-blood woman goes to the dance; a full-blood black "holds the lantern"; the musician is asked what difference it makes
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1886 (Cable in Century Magazine)
KEYWORDS: Black(s) dancing foreignlanguage
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 122-123, "Milatraisse Courri Dans Bal" (1 short text plus loose English translation, 1 tune)
File: ScaNF1222

Militia's Broken Up and Wir Jock's Come Hame, The


DESCRIPTION: Jock has come home in his soldier clothes. He's a fine looking lad and his father was too, so it must run in the blood.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: nonballad soldier father beauty
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1762, "The Militia's Broken Up and Wir Jock's Come Hame" (1 text)
Roud #13010
File: GrD81762

Milk-White Lammie, The


See The Milkwhite Lammie (File: GrD5988)

Milking Pails (China Doll)


DESCRIPTION: The child begs, "Mama, buy me a china doll." The mother asks where the money will come from. The child proposes selling Papa's bed. Mama asks where Papa will sleep. The child keeps proposing ideas, each more impractical. Finally Mama ends the discussion
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1810 (Gammer Gurton's Garland)
KEYWORDS: commerce children family mother playparty dialog
FOUND IN: US(So) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Randolph 356, "Buy Me a China Doll" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 291-293, "Buy Me a China Doll" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 356)
Montgomerie-ScottishNR 192, "(Buy me a milking pail)" (1 text)
DT, MILKPAIL
ADDITIONAL: Walter de la Mare, _Come Hither_, revised edition, 1928; #75, "Milking Pails" (1 text)
ST R356 (Full)
Roud #3515
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Chiney Doll
NOTES: Randolph's informant claims to have learned this in Oklahoma. I know of only two verified American collections, though: Randolph's, and a version ("Chiney Doll") by Almeda Riddle. Thus American texts, and the "China Doll" wish, may be confined to the Ozarks.
On the other hand, Newell's text, "Milking-Pails" (from England) is so close in form (if not in the object of desire) that the song must be considered ancient, and Gomme has more than a dozen British texts. The British version is a singing game, though the American texts seem to have lost this trait.
Jim Dixon pointed out to me the earliest known version, in Ritson's edition of Gammer Gurton's Garland. It is not immediately obvious that it is a version of this song, because the opening seems like a milking song:
Betty's gone a milking, mother, mother;
Betty's gone a milking, dainty fine mother of mine:
Then you may go after, daughter, daughter;
Then you may go after, dainty fine daughter of mine.
But then we get into the dialog so typical of this piece (though the ending is rather ugly):
Buy me a pair of milk pails, mother....
Where's the money to come from, daughter...?
And so forth, until we reach these final verses:
Where are the pigs to lay? daughter....
Lay them at the stair-foot, mother....
There they will be trod to death, daughter....
Lay them by the water-side, mother....
There they will be drowned, daughter....
Then take a rope and hang yourself, mother.... - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: R356

Milking Song, The


DESCRIPTION: "Pbroo, pbroo! my bonnie cow! ... Ye ken the hand that's kind to you; Sae let the drappie go, hawkie." The calf is sleeping in the pen, but will come soon. The milk makes visitors glad.
AUTHOR: Robert Jamieson
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: animal food nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 244, "The Milking Song" (1 text)
Roud #3939
NOTES: Ord believes that Jamieson produced this as an imitation, or perhaps an improvement, of an actual milking song. It seems likely enough. I know of no purely traditional collection.
And, no, I have no idea how one pronounces "pbroo"!
Similar milking rhymes are of course common. Baroing-Gould-MotherGoose 490, p. 213, runs
Cushy cow, bonny, let down thy milk,
And I will give thee a gown of silk;
A gown of silk and a silver tee,
If thou will let down thy milk to me.
There is a similar text in Montgomerie-ScottishNR -- #29, "(Bonnie lady, Let down your milk)." - RBW
File: Ord244

Milking-Pails


See Milking Pails (China Doll) (File: R356)

Milkmaid, The (The Milking Maid)


See Rolling in the Dew (The Milkmaid) (File: R079)

Milkman's Lament, The


See Rocking the Cradle (and the Child Not His Own) (File: R393)

Milkwhite Lammie, The


DESCRIPTION: Annie overhears Johnny comforting a lost lamb while complaining of Annie's scorn. Annie reveals herself and offers to marry Johnnie. They share "a moment's leisure," for which she would not exchange being Scotland's queen, and marry the following Sunday.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1797 (_Aberdeen Magazine_, as GreigDuncan5 988D)
KEYWORDS: courting love marriage farming sheep
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #29, p. 1, "The Milk-White Lammie" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 988, "The Milkwhite Lammie" (6 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5635
File: GrD5988

Mill and the Kiln, The


See Tak It, Man, Tak It (I) (File: FVS015)

Mill o Tifty's Annie


See Andrew Lammie [Child 233] (File: C233)

Mill o' Lour, The


DESCRIPTION: "We a' agreed at Martinmas On Mill o' Lour to dwell, They said it was a very fine place, But it turned out not so well." The singer describes how hard it is to work the mill, and the people and teams involved.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Ford)
KEYWORDS: work home horse miller
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ford-Vagabond, pp. 330-331, "The Mill o' Lour" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 255, "The Mill o' Lour" (1 text)
Roud #5573
File: FVS330

Mill of Boyndie


See Mullnabeeny (Mill of Boyndie) (File: Ord249)

Mill-Boy of the Slashes, The


See Henry Clay Songs (File: SRW039)

Mill, Mill O, The


DESCRIPTION: "Beneath a green shade I found a fair maid, Was sleeping sound and still." The singer has his way with her, then departs to fight in Flanders. Ten years later, he returns to find that she has a child and knows not the father. He marries her
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1803 (_Scots Musical Museum_ #242)
KEYWORDS: sex rape mother children reunion marriage soldier
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1437, "The Mill, Mill, O" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Ord, p. 165, "The Mill, Mill, O" (1 text)
Roud #8486
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Binnorie" (tune, per GreigDuncan7)
File: Ord165

Mill, The


DESCRIPTION: "Clip, clap goes the mill by the swift running brook, clip, clap, By day and by night is the miller at work, clip clap! He grindeth the corn to make bread for the year, And with plenty of this we have nothing to fear; Clip clap...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1939 (Linscott)
KEYWORDS: miller work river nonballad
FOUND IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Linscott, pp. 240-241, "The Mill" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #3750
NOTES: Linscott says of this, "This song in transition has lost its music-box characteristics, which are so apparent in the German form." A curious statement, since she never tells us what the German form is. - RBW
File: Lins240

Miller (I), The


See Miller Tae My Trade (File: K218)

Miller and His Sons, The


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

Miller and the Maid, The


See The Maid Gaed to the Mill (File: RcTMGTTM)

Miller Boy, The (Jolly is the Miller I)


DESCRIPTION: Playparty: "Happy is the miller boy who lives by the mill, The mill turns around with its own free will, Hand on the hopper and the other on the sack, Lady keeps a-going, gents turn back." Other verses about courting, milling, weather
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1719? (Pills to Purge Melancholy) (American version 1916/Wolford)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad miller
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1604, "There Was a Jolly Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 518, "The Miller Boy" (5 texts, 2 tunes)
BrownIII 75, "The Miller Boy" (3 one-stanza fragments)
Hudson 153, pp. 300-301, "The Jolly Miller" (1 text)
Cambiaire, p. 137, "The Miller's Boy" (1 text)
DT, OVRHILL5*
ADDITIONAL: Robert Ford, Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories (Paisley, 1904 (2nd edition, "Digitized by Google")), p. 70, "The Jolly Miller"
Roud #733
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Jolly is the Miller" (on PeteSeeger22) (on PeteSeeger33, PeteSeegerCD03)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Old Man at the Mill" (one verse)
NOTES: Wolford traces this piece back to Pills to Purge Melancholy, and Randolph reports that Gomme has English versions. But they don't look like the same item to me. - RBW
GreigDuncan8 is almost identical to Ford, and very close to the verse Gomme 1.290-293 version IV; all seven of Gomme's one verse versions are the same song as GreigDuncan8 and seem to agree with the description. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: R518

Miller o' Drone, The


DESCRIPTION: A miller grinds a maid's corn. She praises him to her mother. Mother has her corn ground. When the old man goes he is beaten. When he understands the game he beats mother and daughter until they promise not to return to Drone. They return anyway.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1877 (Poet's Box broadside "Miller of Drone," according to GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: sex violence miller father mother
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #41, p. 1, "Miller o' Drone" (1 fragment)
GreigDuncan7 1435, "The Miller o' Drone" (3 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #7155
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Battle o' Harlaw" (tune, per GreigDuncan7)
File: GrD71435

Miller o' Straloch, The


See The Jolly Miller (I) (File: K229M)

Miller of Dee, The


DESCRIPTION: The jolly miller "worked and sang from morn till night, no lark more blythe than he." He is happy because "the bread I eat my hands have earned... in debt to none I be." Listeners are urged to follow his example
AUTHOR: probably Isaac Bickerstaffe (see NOTES)
EARLIEST DATE: 1762 ("Love in a Village"; cf. Chappell)
KEYWORDS: work drink nonballad miller worker
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Kennedy (229), "The Jolly Miller" (1 text, located in the notes)
Opie-Oxford2 352, "There was a jolly miller once" (1 text)
cf. Chappell/Wooldridge II, p. 124, "The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade" (1 tune, partial text)
DT, MILLDEE* MILLDEE2*
Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), pp. 347-348, "(Song)" (1 short text)
Roud #503
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Firth b.25(278), "Miller of the Dee," W.S. Fortey (London), 1858-1885; also Harding B 15(200a), "Miller of the River Dee"; Harding B 15(199b), "The Miller of the Dee"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Jolly Miller" (subject)
SAME TUNE:
The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade (Chappell/Wooldridge II, p. 124)
The Jolly Grinder (File: DTjollgr)
NOTES: Kennedy makes rather a hash of his notes on this song, observing that it is quite close to "The Jolly Miller," which may derive from the same sources. True enough. But "The Jolly Miller" is not "The Miller of Dee," and though Kennedy identifies the tune of the latter (correctly) with "The Budgeon It Is a Delicate Trade," "The Miller of Dee" and "The Budgeon" do *not* use the same tune as "The Jolly Miller," at least as transcribed by Kennedy. "The Budgeon," which Chappell finds in "The Quaker's Opera" in 1728, is in the natural minor; Kennedy's "The Jolly Miller" is in Ionian (major).
Kennedy makes things worse by saying "The Budgeon" is the same tune as "All Around My Hat" -- which again is in Ionian, not natural minor. - RBW
The Bodleian attributes authorship to Isaac Bickerstaffe, though none of the broadsides have that attribution on its face. Opie-Oxford2 352: "This song, a general favourite in Scotland, and of Sir Walter Scott in particular, became well known after it was sung by John Beard in Bickerstaffe's Love in a Village. The music of this successful opera, performed at Covent Garden in 1762 ...."
Verse 1 of broadside Bodleian Firth b.25(278) is almost the same as verse 1 of Opie-Oxford2 352, "There was a jolly miller once" (earliest date in Opie-Oxford2 is 1762). - BS
The Opies say that it was "Love in a Village" was first performed in 1762, "arranged and largely composed by Arne," with this song sung by John Beard. Kunitz/Haycraft: Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft, Editors, British Authors Before 1800: A Biographical Dictionary, H. W. Wilson, 1952 (I use the fourth printing of 1965), p. 43, give the publication date of "Love in a Village" as 1763.
I looked up several editions (Hoagland; RIchard Aldington, The Viking Book of Poetry of the English-Speaking World) of the "Love in a Village" text, and it's clearly this song -- but there appears to be only one verse. So Bickerstaffe (1735?-1812?) isn't the whole story; the additional text must have come from another source.
According to Kunitz/Haycraft: Stanley J. Kunitz and Howard Haycraft, p. 42, "Love in a Village" was based on ideas produced by others: "The plot, as was often the case with Bickerstaffe's dramas, was derivative, put together from Charles Johnson's Village Opera, Wycherley's Dancing Master, and Marivaux's Le Jeu de l'Amour et du Hasard."
Bickerstaffe, incidentally, is almost as confusing as the piece he wrote, because he was a real person, but shared a name (almost) with Isaac Bickerstaff, who was not. There was also an actor with a name something like this (Kunitz/Haycraft, p. 42).
Bickerstaff (no e on the end) was a pseudonym adopted by Jonathan Swift in a controversy with John Partridge. Bickerstaff made a claim Partridge was dead, and even wrote an elegy (1708), provoking an indignant exchange of pamphlets with the very-much-alive Partridge. This was amusing enough that Richard Steele used the Bickerstaff name for a writer of The Tatler Starting 1709). Then Bickerstaffe (with an e) was born a few decades later.- RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: K229A

Miller of Derbyshire, The


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

Miller Tae My Trade


DESCRIPTION: The singer reports, "I am a miller tae my trade... And mony a bag of meal I've made, And mony a lassie I hae laid." He describes one night on which a girl came to his mill and sought his services. (They end up being married)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906
KEYWORDS: miller work seduction bawdy marriage sex work
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South),Scotland(Aber)) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
GreigDuncan7 1489, "I Am a Miller to My Trade" (7 texts, 7 tunes)
Kennedy 218, "The Buchan Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 31, "The Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MILLTRAD
Roud #888
RECORDINGS:
John McDonald, "The Buchan Miller" (on FSB3)
Davie Stewart, "I Am a Miller To My Trade" (on Voice05)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Jolly Miller
File: K218

Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, on Taking of Toll, The


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

Miller's Apprentice, The


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

Miller's Daughter, The


See The Weeping Willer (File: GrD61247)

Miller's Daughter, The (The Fleeing Servant)


DESCRIPTION: The youth and the miller's daughter find themselves on the hill; she starts to seduce him. He flees to the miller, saying, ""O, I have served you seven long years and never sought a fee, And I will serve you seven more if you'll keep your lass from me."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (Kinloch)
KEYWORDS: seduction humorous miller sex rejection
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Kinloch-BBook V, pp. 23-24, (no title) (1 text)
GreigDuncan7 1476, "The Caul's Takin' Me, Gudeman" (3 texts, 1 tune)
PBB 84, "The Miller's Daughter" (1 text)
ST KinBB06 (Full)
Roud #7151
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Waukin' o' the Kilne
NOTES: Kinloch has no title for this piece, and of course doesn't list a source -- but I have to think it's traditional, simply because it doesn't make much sense as it stands. If he wants nothing to do with the girl, why does he go walking with her? It seems likely that a stanza is missing -- either one explaining how she trapped him alone, or one along the lines of "The Warranty Deed," explaining why she is desirable only when clothed.
The Penguin version of this apparently comes from A. L. Lloyd, and isn't much more detailed -- but looks to have been tidied up just a little.
This is one of the handful of humorous treatments of male fidelity -- a theme going back to the tale of Joseph and Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:1-20), and the source of such tragic ballads as "Child Owlet" and "The Sheffield Apprentice." - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: KinBB06

Miller's Daughters, The


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

Miller's Last Will, The


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

Miller's She-Ass, The


DESCRIPTION: A miller could not pay the rent on his mill. The landlord offered the mill and arrears for the miller's wife. For appearances' sake they contract that the miller lend the landlord his she-ass in return for the mill. The miller enforces the contract.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1845 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2055))
LONG DESCRIPTION: An honest miller could not pay the rent on his mill. The landlord loved the miller's wife. Drunk, he offered to trade the mill and arrears to sleep with the miller's wife. For appearance sake they agreed that the miller would appear to loan the landlord his she-ass in return for the mill. A lawyer wrote the contract. The next day the landlord's servant called on the miller to complete the deal. The miller had the servant take the she-ass. Sight unseen, the landlord ordered the she-ass put in his bed. The ass kicked the landlord out of bed and was turned out on the street. "The miller he came and his ass he did own And through all the village the story was known"
KEYWORDS: sex bargaining trick hardtimes drink humorous animal wife landlord miller lawyer
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan2 310, "The Miller's She-Ass" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5864
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2055), "The Landlord Outwitted" or "The Crafty Miller and his She-ass" ("Good people attend I pray you draw near"), J. Pitts (London), 1819-1844
File: GrD2310

Miller's Three Sons, The


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

Miller's Wife o' Blaydon, The


DESCRIPTION: "The miller's wife o' Blaydon (x2), Sair she bang'd her ain gudeman For kissing o' the maiden." "Yet aye the miller sings and swears... For one kiss o' that bonny mouth He'd freely give up twenty."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: miller abuse adultery
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 152-153, "The Miller's Wife o Blaydon" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST StoR152 (Full)
Roud #3167
File: StoR152

Miller's Will, The (The Miller's Three Sons) [Laws Q21]


DESCRIPTION: The dying miller, to decide which of his three sons will inherit, asks each boy how much he would charge. The first son would take an honest toll; the second, half; the last, all and swear to the sack. The miller joyfully gives the mill to the last son
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1764 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 5(7))
KEYWORDS: death father children robbery crime bequest lastwill
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,NE,SE,So) Canada(Mar) Britain(England(All),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (26 citations):
Laws Q21, "The Miller's Will (The Miller's Three Sons)"
Belden, pp. 244-246, "The Miller and his Three Sons" (3 texts)
Randolph 359, "There Was an Old Miller" (4 texts plus an excerpt, 3 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 126-129, "There Was an Old Miller" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 91D)
Eddy 61, "The Dishonest Miller" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Gardner/Chickering 98, "The Dying Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 177, "The Miller and His Three Sons" (2 text plus 5 excerpts and mention of 3 more)
Chappell-FSRA 106, "The Miller" (1 fragment)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, pp. 240-242, "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, on Taking of Toll" (2 texts, both called "The Old Miller"; 2 tunes on p. 419)
JHCoxIIB, #18A-B, pp. 163-165, "The Miller and His Sons," "The Miller" (1 text plus a fragment, 1 tune)
Creighton/Senior, pp.234-236 , "The Miller of Derbyshire" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-NovaScotia 94, "The Miller" (1 text, 1 tune)
SharpAp 161, "The Miller's Will" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sharp/Karpeles-80E 56, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 232, "The Miller's Last Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig 41, p. 1, "The Miller's Three Sons" (1 text)
GreigDuncan3 703, "The Miller's Will" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 58-59, "The Miller and His Sons" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, pp. 80-81, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Chase, pp. 144-145, "The Miller's Will" (1 text, 1 tune)
Botkin-NEFolklr, pp. 546-547, "The Miller's Three Sons" (1 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 155, "The Dishonest Miller" (3 texts plus mention of six more, 1 tune)
Darling-NAS, pp. 149-151, "The Miller's Will" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 120, "The Miller" (1 text)
BBI, ZN2524, "There was a miller who had three sons"
DT 348, MILLWILL MILLWIL2 MILLWIL3*
Roud #138
RECORDINGS:
Horton Barker, "The Miller's Will" (on Barker01)
Jumbo Brightwell, "The Derby Miller" (on Voice14)
Carson Brothers & Sprinkle, "The Old Miller's Will" (OKeh 45398, 1929; on TimesAint01)
Margaret MacArthur, "New Hampshire Miller" (on MMacArthur01)
New Lost City Ramblers, "The Miller's Will" (on NLCR04)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 5(7), "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, in Taking of Toll," W. and C. Dicey (London) , 1736-1763; also Douce Ballads 4(44), "The Miller's Advice to His Three Sons, in Taking of Toll"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Old Miller Rake
File: LQ21

Millman and Tuplin Song, The


DESCRIPTION: June 18 at Margate, Mary "went to meet her young lover, who a few nights before Said he'd make all things right when they'd meet on that shore." He shoots her and "sunk her body deep down" in the river. He is convicted in 1898.
AUTHOR: Dan Riley
EARLIEST DATE: 1957 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: courting murder trial lover
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 28, 1887 - Murder of Mary Tuplin by William Millman
1888 - Execution of Millman
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, 249-250, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman (The Tuplin Song)" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST IvDC046 (Partial)
Roud #9179
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prince Edward Island Murder" (subject)
cf. "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" (subject)
cf. "The Millman Song" (subject)
NOTES: Roud has at least five different numbers for this event:
Roud #1837: Creighton-NovaScotia 140, "Prince Edward Island Murder" [Laws dF59]
Roud #4129: Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song" (also Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181, "The Millman Murder Trial") [LawsdF60]
Roud #9179: Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (also Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman")
Roud #9552: Shea, pp. 174-179, "The Millman Tragedy"
Roud #12463: Dibblee/Dibblee pp. 72-73, "The Murder of Mary Tuplin"
The Ives-DullCare text has the trial in 1898 instead of 1888. That's understandable since the rhyme still holds. [We note that the version in Manny & Wilson has the date right. - RBW] - BS
File: IvDC046

Millman Murder Trial, The


See The Millman Song (File: Doe285)

Millman Song, The


DESCRIPTION: Mary "Cuplon" is pregnant by Millman. The father, rather than admit the deed or marry the girl, murders her and throws her in the river. Her body is found, and Millman is sentenced to death. The singer reminds parents to watch their children
AUTHOR: Attributed to John Calhoun
EARLIEST DATE: 1968 (Ives-DullCare)
KEYWORDS: murder pregnancy river trial execution
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 28, 1887 - Murder of Mary Tuplin by William Millman
1888 - Execution of Millman
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181,250, "The Millman Murder Trial" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST Doe285 (Partial)
Roud #4129
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Prince Edward Island Murder" (subject)
cf. "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" (subject)
cf. "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (subject)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Millman Murder Trial
NOTES: This song is item dF60 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Roud has at least five different numbers for this event:
Roud #1837: Creighton-NovaScotia 140, "Prince Edward Island Murder" [Laws dF59]
Roud #4129: Doerflinger, pp. 285-286, "The Millman Song"(also Ives-DullCare, pp. 180-181, "The Millman Murder Trial") [LawsdF60]
Roud #9179: Ives-DullCare, pp. 46-47, "The Millman and Tuplin Song" (also Manny/Wilson 50, "Young Millman")
Roud #9552: Shea, pp. 174-179, "The Millman Tragedy"
Roud #12463: Dibblee/Dibblee pp. 72-73, "The Murder of Mary Tuplin" - BS
File: Doe285

Milton


See I'll Let You Know the Reason (File: GrD4829)

Milton of Aberdour


See I'll Let You Know the Reason (File: GrD4829)

Milwaukee Blues


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

Milwaukee Fire, The [Laws G15]


DESCRIPTION: The "oft-condemned" Newhall House catches fire; passers-by watch in horror as the residents die in the flames. In particular, a servant girl leaps to her death, and a mother watches her son trapped in the fire
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1922
KEYWORDS: fire disaster death
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Jan 1883 - Fire at the Newhall House. At least 63 people die
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws G15, "The Milwaukee Fire"
LPound-ABS, 62, pp. 138-140, "The Milwaukee Fire" (1 text)
DT 682, MILWAUKF
Roud #3255
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Milwaukee Fire" (AFS 4198 B1, 4198 B2, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Robert Walker, "The Milwaukee Fire" (AFS, 1941; on LC55)
NOTES: John W. Kelley (who also produced such pieces as "The Bowery Grenadiers") wrote a piece called "The Milwaukee Fire" in 1884, and some sources equate this song with that item. The fire, however, was the subject of a great deal of press coverage, and doubtless produced several pierces. None of the folk sources I have consulted equate the traditional song with the Kelley piece, and so I am holding off until I see better evidence. - RBW
File: LG15

Min Mand Han Var en Sjomand (My Man He Was a Seaman)


DESCRIPTION: Swedish shanty. Cautionary song, children ask "where is father? He's resting in the grave." Warns girls not to wed a sailor or they'll end up a widow with children. Source doesn't give a chorus, verses may have been repeated as refrains.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Eivind Jartved)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage shanty sailor wife death
FOUND IN: Sweden
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 529-530, "Min Mand Han Var en Sjomand" (2 texts-Swedish & English, 1 tune)
NOTES: Hugill got this from Sternvall's Sang under Segel (1935) with a note that it was taken from "Eivind Jartved" in 1904. - SL
File: Hugi529

Mind How You Trifle With a Gun


See McLellan's Son (File: Pea831)

Mind Your Eye


See Quare Bungo Rye (File: Log416)

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School


DESCRIPTION: "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the burning of the school, We have tortured every teacher, we have broken every rule." The students describe (with many variations) how they overthrew the scholastic regime
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1975
KEYWORDS: rebellion derivative
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 100, "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory of the Burning of the School" (1 text with many variants, tune referenced)
DT, BURNSCHL
ST PHCFS100 (Full)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John Brown's Body" (tune)
cf. "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Horror of the Ending of the Term"
NOTES: I wonder if this isn't the most popular folk song in America today. - RBW
File: PHCFS100

Miner Boys, The


See The Cross Mountain Explosion (Coal Creek Disaster) [Laws G9] (File: LG09)

Miner Child's Dream, The


See The Dream of the Miner's Child (File: R859)

Miner, The


DESCRIPTION: The miner goes to work "With his calico cap and his old flannel shirt, his pants with the strap round the knee, His boots watertight and his candle alight His crib and his billy of tea." He works to support his family, and hopes to have money for tobacco
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1964
KEYWORDS: mining work family poverty
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Fahey-Eureka, pp. 74-75, "The Miner" (1 text, 1 tune -- collected as a fragment inserted into another piece)
Manifold-PASB, p. 43, "The Miner" (1 text, 1 tune)
Paterson/Fahey/Seal, pp. 131-134, "The Miner" (1 text, collected as a conflation of "The Miner" and "The Dream of the Miner's Child")
NOTES: Manifold comments, "This is one of the few songs from the later period of gold-mining, after the alluvial gold was finished." In other words, it is a true mining song, not a prospecting song. Such things are not rare in America, of course, but they do seem to be unusual in Australia. - RBW
File: FaE074

Miner's Doom, The [Laws Q36]


DESCRIPTION: Although a miner's life may be happy, the risks are great. This miner is riding back to the surface when the elevator rope breaks. His death causes his wife to die of grief, leaving their three children orphans
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (recording, Vernon Dalhart)
KEYWORDS: mining death orphan
FOUND IN: US(MA) Britain(Wales)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Laws Q36, "The Miner's Doom"
DT 544, MINRDOOM*
Roud #1015
RECORDINGS:
Vernon Dalhart, "The Miner's Doom" (Brunswick 139, 1927; Supertone S-2014, 1930)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Orphan Girl" (the subtext "The Coal Miner's Child" has a plot very like this)
NOTES: Laws lists this as an old Welsh song, and Korson claims to have picked it up from a Welshman in 1925. But I wonder. There seem to be only two known traditional versions: Korson's, which he claims to have heard in 1925 but who did not record it until 1946, and Lloyd's. Thus, apart from Korson's unverifiable claim of a 1925 date, there is no evidence of this song being in circulation prior to Vernon Dalhart's recording. One has to suspect that Dalhart at least contributed to its (bare) survival. - RBW
File: LQ36

Miner's Lifeguard


DESCRIPTION: A union song with religious overtones. The miner is advised to "Keep your hand upon the dollar and your eyes upon the scales."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940
KEYWORDS: nonballad mining religious labor-movement
FOUND IN: US(Ap)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 730, "Miner's Lifeguard" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greenway-AFP, pp. 15-16, "(Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (1 text, plus fragments of assorted parodies, of which this is the first)
Silber-FSWB, p. 138, "Miner's Lifeguard" (1 text)
DT, MNRLFGRD*
Roud #3510
RECORDINGS:
Mary Travers , "Miner's Lifeguard" (on PeteSeeger01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Life's Railway to Heaven (Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad)" (tune) and references there
NOTES: A parody of "Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad." - RBW
File: BSoF730

Miners' Fate, The [Laws G10]


DESCRIPTION: A cave-in five hundred feet below the ground traps the Pittston miners. There can be no rescue; not even the bodies can be brought out. The families grieve
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: mining disaster death family
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
June 28, 1896 - The Pittstown cave-in
FOUND IN: US(MA)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Laws G10, "The Miners' Fate"
DT 786, MINRFATE
Roud #3261
File: LG10

Minister o' Birse, The


DESCRIPTION: "Ye sanna need to lie ther'oot And me ther'in, and me ther'in"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan4)
KEYWORDS: seduction clergy
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan4 793, "The Minister o' Birse" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #6200
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan4 fragment.
GreigDuncan4: "Birse is on Deeside near Aboyne." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD4793

Minister's Daughter Jean, The


See Richard (Irchard) of Taunton Dean (File: RcIOTD)

Minister's Dochter o' Newarke, The


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

Minister's Wedder, The


See Parson Brown's Sheep (File: GrD2309)

Minister's Wife Has Learned a Sang, The


DESCRIPTION: "The minister's wife has learned a sang And she cares not how grit it be if it be lang"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (GreigDuncan8)
KEYWORDS: music wife clergy
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan8 1869, "The Minister's Wife Has Learned a Sang" (1 fragment)
Roud #13583
NOTES: The current description is all of the GreigDuncan8 text. - BS
Ben conjecturs that "grit" in the second line is "great." This seems likely,but I might conjecture that it is from "greet," "weep" -- i.e. she doesn't care how mournful the song is if it's long enough. - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD81869

Minnie Quay (Winnie Gray) [Laws G20]


DESCRIPTION: Slandered by a young man, sixteen-year-old (Minnie) finds that her parents have turned against her and wish her dead. She drowns herself in Lake Huron
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1941 (Beck)
KEYWORDS: suicide family lie drowning
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws G20, "Minnie Quay (Winnie Gray)"
Beck 77, "Minnie Quay" (1 text)
DT 835, MINIQUAY
Roud #8850
NOTES: [Beck notes that] Minnie Quay's tombstone can be found in the village of Forester, on the shore of Lake Huron. [The author of the song is] possibly William J. Smith, of Port Huron, Michigan. - PJS
File: LG20

Minstrel Boy, The


DESCRIPTION: "The minstrel boy to the war is gone, In the ranks of death you'll find him. His father's sword he has girded on And his wild hard slung behind him." The minstrel falls in battle, destroying his harp so that "no chains shall sully thee."
AUTHOR: Words: Thomas Moore
EARLIEST DATE: 1813 ("A Selection of Irish Melodies")
KEYWORDS: soldier harp music death
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 279, "The Minstrel Boy" (1 text)
Fuld-WFM, p. 369, "The Minstrel-Boy"
DT, MINSTBOY
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), p. 375, "The Minstrel Boy" (1 text)
Roud #13867
RECORDINGS:
The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, "The Minstrel Boy" (on IRClancyMakem03)
Vernon Stiles, "The Minstrel Boy" (Columbia A-2435, 1917)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 25(1037), "The Minstrel Boy", T. Birt (London), 1828-1829; also 2806 b.9(243), 2806 c.15(207), Harding B 11(1471), Harding B 16(49c), Firth b.26(434)[some words illegible], Firth b.25(385), Harding B 11(2293), 2806 c.16(197), Firth b.27(457/458) View 1 of 4, Johnson Ballads fol. 26, Harding B 40(2) View 3 of 4[some words cut out], Harding B 19(48), Firth b.26(87)[some words illegible], "The Minstrel Boy"
LOCSheet, sm1879 02687, "The Minstrel Boy", Edw Schuberth (New York), 1879; also sm1882 21694, sm1882 22258, sm1884 25744, sm1885 05300, "The Minstrel Boy" (tune)
LOCSinging, sb30345a, "The Minstrel Boy", H. De Marsan (New York), 1864-1878
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fisherman's Son to the Ice Has Gone" (form)
NOTES: Usually sung, in these days, as an anti-war song, but originally composed as an Irish freedom piece. The music is said to be "The Moreen," though that song is obscure.
This is another of Moore's "big works"; Granger's Index to Poetry cites it from 13 different anthologies. Ironically, I'm not sure it has ever been found strictly in tradition. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging sb30345a: 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: FSWB279A

Mione


DESCRIPTION: French cumulative song, in which the singer describes each of the items given by Mione: "If I had the beautiful shoes/stockings/hat/etc. which Mione gave to me...."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1919 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage nonballad clothes
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Belden, pp. 517-518, "Mione" (1 text, badly defective and conjecturally restored)
File: Beld517B

Mirabeau


DESCRIPTION: "You may talk of equine heroes from Ajax to Grand-van-Ur.... But there's one more worthy of song... [is] Johnson's Mirabeau." The horse is far behind at the three quarters mark, but comes on to win
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1968
KEYWORDS: racing horse
FOUND IN: Australia
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 117-118, "Mirabeau" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: MA117

Miracle Flower, The


DESCRIPTION: A man murders and buries a girl. A flower grows from her grave and blooms the year round. If anybody plucks the blossom, it blooms again right away. The killer comes to see it. The flower it turns to blood in his hands and reveals his guilt
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1950 (Creighton/Senior)
KEYWORDS: murder flowers supernatural
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton/Senior, pp. 188-189, "The Miracle Flower" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #3345
NOTES: [Creighton notes], "Although I have told many singers this story, I have yet to find one who knows the song." [The fragmentary text reads] "And wondered how so fair a flower could bloom and flourish there." - BN
File: CrSe188

Miraculous Harvest, The


See The Carnal and the Crane [Child 55] (File: C055)

Miramichi Fire, The [Laws G24]


DESCRIPTION: A great fire covers an area 42 by 100 miles. In less than a day it burns forest, houses, and towns, killing or wounding vast numbers. There is little for the survivors to do but bury the dead
AUTHOR: John Jardine = Thomas M. Jordan (?)
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Manny/Wilson)
KEYWORDS: fire death disaster
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Oct 1825 - A great series of forest fires sweeps New Brunswick. Popular legend had it that the damage was done by a single fire
FOUND IN: US(NE) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws G24, "The Miramichi Fire"
Creighton-Maritime, pp. 201-202, "The Miramichi Fire" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ives-DullCare, pp. 62-64,250-251, "The Miramichi Fire" (1 text, 1 tune)
Manny/Wilson 34, "The Miramichi Fire" (1 text, 3 tunes)
DT 324, MIRAMICH
Roud #2721
RECORDINGS:
Edmund Doucette, "The Miramichi Fire" (on MREIves01)
NOTES: By the early nineteenth century, with the fur trade moving into the Canadian west, the eastern provinces were turning increasingly to logging as a source of income, sending most of their wood products to England.
This had significant effects on the ecology. As the old forests were cut down, second growth invaded, which was naturally more flammable -- and if the fire grew big enough in one of the clear patches, it could spread to the old growth as well. The result was a constant fire danger.
Although none of the fires was as large as the one described in this song, at least one (the "Great Fire") is said to have burned 400 square miles. Adding a zero to that might perhaps have helped inspire this song. - RBW
Ives-DullCare: "Shortly after [the fire], John Jardine of Black River wrote a ballad about it which he almost certainly had printed and sold. Either he or, what is more likely, later singers put tunes to it.... At the moment ... no tune has a better right than the present one to be called, if not the 'original,' at least the most widespread." - BS
Laws cites the Bulletin of the Folk-Song Society of the Northeast (#11) in attributing this song to Thomas M. Jordan. Obviously Jordan and Jardine are oral variants on each other. Jardine is the more likely; Manny and Wilson have a photograph of John Jardine (obviously in later life). - RBW
File: LG24

Miss Aledo


See Powderhorn (File: FCW070)

Miss Bridget Adair


DESCRIPTION: Bridget Adair is a forty year old spinster. One morning a man comes to her door and said "Miss Bridget, I die for you." She likes his demeanour. Then he gives her silks she had sent him to dye "a beautiful mazarine blue." She cries with disappointment.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Hayward-Ulster)
KEYWORDS: oldmaid
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hayward-Ulster, pp. 74-75, "Miss Bridget Adair" (1 text)
Roud #6536
NOTES: The Albert Memorial, cited in the song ["It was just as the Albert Memorial struck nine, And Miss Bridget was just out of bed"], was completed 1876 (source: The Victorian Web site). That puts an earliest possible date on the Hayward-Ulster version. - BS
File: HayU074

Miss Brown


See The Cruel Ship's Carpenter (The Gosport Tragedy; Pretty Polly) [Laws P36A/B] (File: LP36)

Miss Cochrane


DESCRIPTION: "It was on an Easter Monday which happened of late, Young Marg'ret got ready and set on her way." Her boat blows out to sea and she is drowned. Her body is never found. Her father says he warned her against sailing on Logh Foyle
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1924 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: death drowning ship father
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H42a, p. 148, "Miss Cochrane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9452
SAME TUNE:
Eirigh Suas a Stoirin (Kennedy, #34)
File: HHH042a

Miss Dinah


DESCRIPTION: "I wish I was an apple, Miss Dinah was another. And O! what a happy pair we'd make On the tree together." "Oh, I love Miss Dinah so." One day a wind blows them together, then into the water. "Miss Dinah she was raked ashore, But I was never founded"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: love courting river drowning rescue
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 127-128, "Miss Dinah" (1 text)
File: ScaNF127

Miss Fogarty's Cake


See Trinity Cake (Mrs. Fogarty's Cake) (File: Doyl3062)

Miss Forbes's Farewell to Banff


DESCRIPTION: "Farewell ye fields an' meadows green, The blest retreat of peace and love." The singer tells of the beauties of home, and admits, "I'm loath to leave the scene again." The singer bids farewell, hoping all the while to return
AUTHOR: John Hamilton (died 1814) ?
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: home love emigration
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 358, "Miss Forbes' Farewell to Banff" (1 text)
Roud #5607
File: Ord358

Miss Gordon of Gight


DESCRIPTION: "O, whare are ye gaun, bonnie Miss Gordon... Ye're gauin wi' Johnny Byron To squander the lands o' Gight awa." "Your Johnny's a man frae England just come, The Scots dinna like his extraction ava... he'll spend a' your rent."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (Ord)
KEYWORDS: warning home money marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ord, p. 390, "Miss Gordon of Gight" (1 text)
Roud #3891
NOTES: According to Ord, Catherine Gordon of Gight married John Gordon on May 12, 1785. The poet Lord Byron was their son -- but the fears of this song did come true: The Byrons did sell her family estate of Gight. - RBW
File: Ord390

Miss Green


DESCRIPTION: Miss Green courted Sean O'Farrell. He left "for the love of old Ireland" and was greeted in New York by a band; he toasted the Yankees. Tomorrow she will follow him and they will marry. She hopes to return
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1987 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: courting marriage emigration America Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 47, "Miss Green" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #5236
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Green Mossy Banks of the Lea" [Laws O15] (tune, according Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
File: RcMisGre

Miss Julie Ann Glover


See Julia Grover (Miss Julie Ann Glover) (File: Lins224)

Miss Liza


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, Miss Liza, oh, mah darlin'! -- hoo ah hoo! Gwine away to leave you... Gwin away tomorrow... Ain't you mighty sorry?" "Oh, miss Liza... Comin' back to you... Won't you be my honey?" "Don't you know I lub you?... Don't you want to marry?"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: courting love
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 227, (no title) (1 text)
File: ScaNF227

Miss Lucy Loo


DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Bend yer backs take in the slack, roll me over, Lucy. To me way, hay, hay, ho, hu! Bend yer backs take in the slack, roll me over, Lucy. We're rollin down to Trinidad to see Miss Lucy Loo" No story line, verses one line each repeated w/choruses.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong
FOUND IN: West Indies
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Hugill, p. 397, "Miss Lucy Loo" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, p. 302]
DT, LUCYLOO
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Sing a Song, Blow-Along O!" (chorus lyrics)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Rollin' Down to Trinidad
File: Hugi397

Miss Mary Belle


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

Miss Mary Jane (Riding in the Buggy, Who Moan for Me)


DESCRIPTION: "Ridin' in the buggy, Miss Mary Jane... Long way from home. Who moan for me...." "Sally got a house in Baltimore... And it's three stories high. "Sally got a house in Baltimore, filled with chicken pie."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: courting home nonballad nonsense
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 117, "Miss Mary Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 259, "Miss Mary Jane" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LoF259 (Partial)
Roud #11595
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Letter from Down the Road" (lyrics)
NOTES: I know it looks like "Old Joe Clark." But it's not. - RBW
File: LoF259

Miss Mary Mack


See Mary Mack (I) (File: CNFM158B)

Miss, Will You Have a Farmer's Son


See Soldier Boy for Me (A Railroader for Me) (File: R493)

Misses Limerick, Kerry and Clare


DESCRIPTION: Three girls civilly compare their county's heroes. "The Limerick people, they were never beaten." Kerry and Clare both claim O'Connell, "that great Lib'rator." Limerick also claims O'Connell: "we have his staue as well as ye" and Parnell besides.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1974 (Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Munnelly/Deasy-Lenihan 24, "Misses Limerick, Kerry and Clare" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #5223
RECORDINGS:
Tom Lenihan, "Misses Limerick, Kerry and Clare" (on IRTLenihan01)
NOTES: For Daniel O'Connell, see Daniel O'Connell (I) and the myriad songs cross-referenced there; for Charles Stewart Parnell, see notably "We Won't Let Our Leader Run Down." - RBW
File: RcMLiKCl

Missie Mouse


See Frog Went A-Courting (File: R108)

Mission Song


DESCRIPTION: The workers at the Mission "get the milk skimmed and de relations de cream." The poor get only rags while the Manager is off spending the proceeds in places like Carboneer or Boston.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (Leach-Labrador)
KEYWORDS: greed hardtimes poverty worker
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Leach-Labrador 91, "Mission Song" (1 text, 1 tune)
ST LLab091 (Partial)
Roud #9973
NOTES: Leach-Labrador: "The Mission referred to is the Grenfell Mission at Red Bay.... This is a local gripe song that not at all expresses the feelings of the people in general toward the Mission. I was told that this song was composed ... by a man .. dismissed from his job at the Mission because of misconduct." - BS
File: LLab091

Missionary's Farewell, The


DESCRIPTION: "Yes, my native land I love thee, All thy scenes I love them well... Can I leave thee, can I leave thee, Far in heathen lands to dwell?" The singer rehearses all that (he) would be leaving, but concludes that preaching the gospel is worth it
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: religious separation home
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 641, "The Missionary's Farewell" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7565
NOTES: Variously, and probably falsely, attributed to William Walker and the Reverend S. F. Smith. - RBW
File: R641

Mississippi Bo Weavil Blues


See The Boll Weevil [Laws I17] (File: LI17)

Mississippi Jail House Groan


DESCRIPTION: Singer, in jail, sleeps "with my back turned to the wall." His woman brings coffee and tea -- everything but the jailhouse key. His parents say he has too many women; he looks at his mother, hangs his head, cries; if his woman kills him he's ready to die
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Rube Lacy)
KEYWORDS: captivity prison floatingverses father lover mother prisoner
FOUND IN: US(SE)
RECORDINGS:
Rube [Reubin] Lacy, "Mississippi Jail House Groan" (Paramount 12629, 1928; on BefBlues1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Midnight Special" (floating lyrics)
NOTES: Again, the narrative in this song just sneaks under the wire as a ballad, but it does. - PJS
File: RcMJHG

Mississippi Sounding Call


See Sounding Calls (File: BMRF572)

Missus in de Big House


See Missus in the Big House (File: CNFM117)

Missus in the Big House


DESCRIPTION: "Missus in the big house, Mammy in the yard. Missus holdin' her white hands, Mammy workin' hard." "Old Marse ridin' all the time, Niggers workin' round. Marse sleepin' day time, Niggers diggin' in the ground."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1963
KEYWORDS: work slave discrimination
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Courlander-NFM, p. 117, (no title) (1 text)
Greenway-AFP, p. 96, "Missus in de Big House" (1 text)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 246-247, "De Black Gal" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss"
NOTES: Metrically, this reminds me very much of "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss." Hard to tell if they are the same without a tune and with only two verses.
The Lomax text does not share the two verses of the Courlander and Greenway versions, but the form and content (contrasting white luxury with Black work and poverty) seem to place the songs together. The Lomax text may be composite anyway; they give no information about its origin. - RBW
File: CNFM117

Mister Boll Weevil


See The Boll Weevil [Laws I17] (File: LI17)

Mister Booger


See Johnny Booker (Mister Booger) (File: R268)

Mister Carter


DESCRIPTION: "Mister Cyarter, Mister Cyarter, Won't you be (i.e. buy?) my dawg? He won't bite a sheep But 'e will bite a hog."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: dog nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 110, "Mister Carter" (1 text)
File: Br3110

Mister Costler


DESCRIPTION: Lorn Costler has the mail contract for outports. When he and his engineer, Billy Warren, work, "the day must be fine, the sea must be calm." He "gives out the mail at a terrible rate" in order to leave quickly even with no danger from ice or wind.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1977 (Lehr/Best)
KEYWORDS: cowardice commerce storm
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lehr/Best 80, "Mr Costler" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The mail route for Costler's ship, The Packet, is along the south coast about 70 miles east of Port-aux-Basques. - BS
File: LeBe080

Mister Finagan


See Molly McGlocklin (File: RcMolMcG)

Mister Frog Went A-Courting


See Frog Went A-Courting (File: R108)

Mister Garfield


DESCRIPTION: Song-story about the assassination of President Garfield. Garfield, shot, tells doctor he's badly wounded. He gives dying advice, and hopes to go to heaven. Sheriff arrests Charles Guiteau for the murder; he says "I'll hang on the 6th day of June."
AUTHOR: Unknown, but much of the text may have been written by Anderson Williams
EARLIEST DATE: 1949 (recording, Bascom Lamar Lunsford)
LONG DESCRIPTION: Song-story describing the assassination of President James Garfield. Garfield's been shot; tells doctor he's badly wounded. Preacher asks where he'd like to spend eternity; Garfield says "Heaven." His wife asks if he should die, should she remarry? He tells her, "Don't you never let a chance go by." Sheriff arrests Charles Guiteau for the murder; he says "I'll hang on the 6th day of June." Mrs. Garfield brings her husband roses
KEYWORDS: grief marriage questions violence crime execution murder punishment death dying wife doctor
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
July 2, 1881 - James A. Garfield is shot by Charles Guiteau, who thought Garfield owed him a patronage job. Garfield had been president for less than four months
Sept 19, 1881 - Death of Garfield
June 30, 1882 - Hanging of Charles Guiteau
FOUND IN: US(SE)
RECORDINGS:
Bascom Lamar Lunsford, "Mr. Garfield" (on BLLunsford02)
J. C. "Jake" Staggers, "Garfield" (on FolkVisions2)
Art Thieme, "Mister Garfield" (on Thieme04)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Charles Guiteau" [Laws E11] (subject)
NOTES: Lunsford is usually thought to have written this, but Art Rosenbaum believes it originated in the Black community. - PJS
File: RcMrGarf

Mister MacKinley


See Mister McKinley (White House Blues) (File: LoF143)

Mister McKinley (White House Blues)


DESCRIPTION: "McKinley hollered, McKinley squalled; The doc says, 'McKinley, I can't find the ball.'" Describing McKinley's assassination by Zolgotz, his poor medical treatment, and his funeral. MacKinley is usually said to be "bound to die."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1926 (recording, Charlie Poole)
KEYWORDS: death murder doctor funeral political humorous
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Sept 6, 1901 - President William McKinley is shaking hands at an exhibition when he is shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who felt McKinley was receiving too much attention.
MacKinley's wounds should not have been serious, but his inept doctor decided to operate immediately rather than wait for a specialist
Sept 14, 1901 - Death of MacKinley (due more to operative trauma than to his wounds). Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Cohen-LSRail, pp. 413-425, "Cannonball Blues/Whitehouse Blues" (2 texts, 2 tunes, the first being "Mister McKinley (White House Blues)" and the second the "Cannonball Blues," plus a version of a song called "Mr. McKinley" from _The Week-End Book_, which is so different that I would regard it as a separate though perhaps related song, probably not traditional)
Lomax-FSNA 143, "Mister MacKinley" (sic) (1 text, 1 tune)
Asch/Dunson/Raim, p. 56 "White House Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen/Seeger/Wood, p. 228 "White House Blues" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rorrer, p. 73, "White House Blues" (1 text)
Silber-FSWB, p. 287, "White House Blues" (1 text)
DT, WHITHOU*
Roud #787
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "Buffalo, Buffalo (Death of McKinley)" (AFS 4198 B3, 1938; tr.; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Bill Monroe & his Bluegrass Boys, "Whitehouse Blues" (Decca 29141, 1954)
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "White House Blues" (Columbia 15099D, 1926; on AAFM1, CPoole01, CPoole05)
Riley Puckett, "McKinley" (Columbia 15448-D, 1929)
Swing Billies, "From Buffalo to Washington" (Bluebird B-7121, 1937)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Battleship of Maine" (tune)
cf. "The Cannonball" (words)
cf. "Joking Henry" (tune)
cf. "White House Blues (II)" (structure, tune, words)
NOTES: I know of three derivative versions of this song: one collected in Kentucky in the 1930s, talking about Herbert Hoover (in this collection as "White House Blues (II)"), a second recorded by country-and-western singer Tom T. Hall in the 1970s, talking about Richard Nixon. Both share the title "White House Blues." The third is ""Governor Al Smith." - (PJS)
McKinley had been unpopular among farmers, most of whom had supported Democrat William Jennings Bryan, and his passing was not much mourned among country people -- thus the jaunty, humorous tone of this song. - PJS
The reference to McKinley's children earning a pension upon their father's death is completely unhistorical; McKinley married Ida Saxton (1847-1907) in 1871, but his two daughters, Katie and Ida, both died in infancy, and Mrs. McKinley was an epileptic and an invalid by the time her husband was elected President. - RBW
File: LoF143

Mister Rabbit


DESCRIPTION: "'Mister Rabbit, Mister Rabbit, your tail's mighty white.' 'Yes, bless God, been gettin' out of sight...." Mister rabbit similarly explains its coat, ears, and other physical features
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal questions dialog nonballad floatingverses
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 173-174, "Mister Rabbit" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 6, "Mister Rabbit" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 240-242, "Cotton Field Song" (1 text, 1 tune, composite; the final portion goes here and the rest is largely floating verses or unidentifiable; some may go with "Fly Around, My Pretty Little Miss")
BrownIII 167, "Old Molly Hare (Mr. Rabbit)" (2 texts plus 4 fragments, 1 excerpt, and mention of 2 more; the "C," "D," and "E" fragments, plus probably "B," are "Old Molly Hare," "I" is "Mister Rabbit"; "A" and "G" mix the two)
ST LxU006 (Partial)
Roud #10058
RECORDINGS:
Horton Barker, "Hop, Old Rabbit, Hop" [with a couple of verses from "Poor Old Man"] (on Barker01)
Pete Seeger, "Mister Rabbit" (on PeteSeeger08, PeteSeegerCD02)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Rattlesnake" (theme)
NOTES: Roud links together several rabbit songs under one number: "Mister Rabbit," "Ole Mister Rabbit (I'll Get You Rabbit)," even "Rabbit Hash." All are about rabbits raiding gardens (something they certainly do) and the attempts to punish them for it (rarely successful, even with modern technology). But the forms are quite distinct, so I split them. - RBW
File: LxU006

Mister Squirrel


DESCRIPTION: "One day Mr. Squirrel went up a tree to bed. A great big hickory nut fell upon his head. 'Although I am fond of nuts,' Mr. Squirrel then did say, 'I'd very much rather that they wouldn't come this way.'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1952 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: animal food humorous
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownIII 171, "Mr. Squirrel" (1 short text)
File: Br3171

Mister Stormalong


See Stormalong (File: Doe082)

Mister, Please Give Me a Penny


DESCRIPTION: "Mister, please give me a penny, For I ain't got any Pa, Mister, please give me a penny, I want to buy some bread for Ma."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1940 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: orphan money begging
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 729, "Mister, Please Give Me a Penny" (1 short text)
Roud #7392
File: R729

Mistletoe Bough, The


DESCRIPTION: In the castle, beneath the mistletoe bough, the lord's daughter prepares to wed young Lovell. The girl, tired of dancing, decides to hide and have Lovell find her. He never does. Years later, her body is found "in a living tomb," trapped in a chest
AUTHOR: Thomas Haynes Bayly?
EARLIEST DATE: 1855 (National Temperance Songster)
KEYWORDS: love marriage game hiding death Christmas
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 802, "The Mistletoe Bough" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph/Cohen, pp. 466-468, "The Mistletoe Bough" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 802)
cf. Gardner/Chickering, p. 481, "The Mistletoe Bough" (source notes only)
DT, MISTLETO*
Roud #2336
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2462), "The Mistletoe Bough," J. Harness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 15(204b), "Mistletoe Bough," H. Disley (London), 1860-1883 (partly illegible); Harding B 11(2464), "Mistetoe Bough," H. Such (London), 1863-1885
SAME TUNE:
The Vorkhouse Boy (PBB 102, "The Workhouse Boy"; cf. broadside Bodleian Firth c. 16(311), unknown, no date; a parody in "Dutch" dialect of this song, with very similar lyrics except that the girl is transformed to a boy in a poorhouse)
Billy Jenkins, or The two houses of parliament (parody per broadside Harding B 11(2462), which also contains the original)
NOTES: Underwood, pp. 22-23, reports this of Bramshill House near Basingstoke in Hampshire: "An ancient chest in the panelled gallery is said to have been the 'death bed' of a young bride who died on the eve of her wedding." Her ghost is reported to have walked.
Probably unrelated, but a garbled version might perhaps have inspired this song. Alternately, it might come from the same roots as "Ginevra," by Samuel Rogers (1763-1855), which has the same story though the bride is Italian. I do not know the exact date of "Ginevra," but it is said to be part of his massive multi-volume poem "Italy," published 1822-1828 and reissued in revised form in 1830, so his piece probably predates "The Mistletoe Bough."
The final stanza of "Ginevra," as quoted in HouseholdTreasury, pp. 133-135, is as follows (the whole poem "Italy" is apparently in blank verse):
Full fifty years were past, and all forgot,
When, on an idle day, a day of search
'Mid the old lumber in the Gallery,
That mouldering chest was notices; and 'twas said
By one as young, as thoughtless as Ginevra,
"Why not remove it from its lurking-place?"
'Twas done as soon as said; but on the way
It burst, it fell; and lo! a skeleton,
With here and there a pearl, an emerald-stone,
A golden clasp, clasping a shred of gold.
All else had perished, -- save a nuptial ring,
And a small seal, her mother's legacy,
Engraven with a name, the name of both,
"GINEVRA."
There, then, she had found a grave.
Within that chest she had concealed herself,
Fluttering with joy, the happiest of the happy;
When a spring lock, that lay in ambush there,
Fastened her down for ever!
Incidentally, NewCentury, entry on "Ginevra," say that this story was told of several English castles.
And, no, I have no idea, Harry Potter fans, if it is significant that Ginny Weasley's real name was Ginevra! - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: R802

Misty Mountain, The


See Beinn a' Cheathaich (File: K002)

Mitchel's Address


See John Mitchel (File: PGa045)

Mither, I Maun Hae a Man


DESCRIPTION: "Noo mither, I maun tell ye, I'm gaun to be a wife; For I'm sure it's nae pleasure To live a single life." The girl complains of the burdens her mother puts on her, and offers Biblical arguments for marriage, and concludes, "I mean to tak' a man."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: oldmaid mother children marriage
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Greig #101, p. 2, "Mither, I Maun Hae a Man"; Greig #103, p. 2, "Mither, I Maun Hae a Man"; Greig #105, pp. 2-3, "Mither, I Maun Hae a Man" (5 texts)
GreigDuncan7 1333, GreigDuncan8 Addenda, "Mither, I Maun Hae a Man" (7 texts, 3 tunes)
Ord, pp. 148-149, "Mither, I Maun Hae a Man" (1 text)
Roud #5554
NOTES: The girl here does not really quote the Bible, except for paraphrasing "be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 9:1, etc.), but her argument is taken largely from 1 Corinthians 7, particularly 7:28, which states that it is no sin for a girl to marry.
The part about the girl being obedient has multiple sources in scripture, including the first part of 1 Corinthians 11 (the key verse here, 11:10, is actually close to making nonsense in Greek, but of course this is clarified -- usually to the detriment of the women -- in most translations). - RBW
Greig #107, p. 2, 1909: "Mr Ord adds:-'The version of "Mither I mean to tak' a man" is just what I heard upwards of 30 years ago.'" - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ord148

Mither's Loon, The


See What Do You Think o' Me Noo, Kind Sirs? (File: FVS115)

Mo Chraoibhin Aoibhinn Aluinn Og (My Pleasant Beautiful Young Little Branch)


DESCRIPTION: The harper says his true love is "bound and bleeding 'neath the oppressor." Her riches and beauty gone, she is deserted by many "crouching now like cravens" "Arouse to vengeance, men of brav'ry"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1845 (_The Spirit of the Nation,_ according to OLochlainn-More)
KEYWORDS: harp nonballad patriotic
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
OLochlainn-More 85, "Mo Chreeveen Eeven Aulin Og" (1 text, 1 tune)
File: OLcM085

Mo Dhachaidh (My Ain Home)


DESCRIPTION: Gaelic. Our house by the ferry is surrounded with flowers and birds, protected by the hill from snow. My wife is "the star o' my hame ... the bairnies are singin'" We don't need riches.
AUTHOR: Malcolm MacFarlane
EARLIEST DATE: c.1908 (Moffat)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage lyric nonballad home wife
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
ADDITIONAL:
Alfred Moffat, The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Highlands, pp. 48-49 in the soft-cover edition printed c.1960, pp. 92-93 in the hard-cover edition printed c.1908
RECORDINGS:
Malcolm Angus McLeod, "Mo Dhachaidh" (on NovaScotia1)
NOTES: The description is based on Moffat's translation by Alexander Stewart. - BS
File: RcMDMAH

Mo Nighean donn a Cornaig


DESCRIPTION: Singer's fiancee, coming to church, is murdered by ruffians. The wine saved for their wedding is instead drunk at her funeral. The singer wishes he could find those who killed his beloved; he has a sword, and will test the strength of his arm with it.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1917 (Kennedy-Fraser)
KEYWORDS: grief love sex wedding violence abduction crime murder revenge beauty death funeral mourning foreignlanguage lament lover wine
FOUND IN: Scotland(Hebr)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Kennedy 19, "Mo Nighean Donn a Cornaig [My Dark-Haired Maid from Cornaig]" (1 text in Scottish Gaelic + translation, 1 tune)
Kennedy-Fraser II, pp. 140-145, "A Tiree Tragedy (Mo Nighean donn a Cornaig)" (1 text in Scottish Gaelic + translation, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
My Bonny Cornaig Lassie
NOTES: Flora McNeil, from whom the song was collected, notes that while she had only heard the song in Barra, it may have come from the island of Tiree, where there is a place called Cornaig. - PJS, paraphrasing Kennedy
Kennedy-Fraser, however, has a very different story: Words (not quite the same!) collected in Eigg, with a tune from Eriskay. The source of the tune was one Annie MacNeill.
According to Kennedy-Fraser, the girl's brothers had wanted to kill he lover, but got her instead; "the lover spent the rest of his years making passionate songs to her who had given her life for his own." - RBW
File: K019

Mo-te A-pe Promene Sur La Rue Commune


DESCRIPTION: Creole French. "Mo-te a-pe promene sur la Rue Commune, Quand Mo-te a-pe boire un bon berre la bierre. Voila m'o culotte craquet et fais moin assi par terre." A man has a drink of beer and meets and forces the singer to the ground
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage drink
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 124, "Mo-te A-pe Promene Sur La Rue Commune" (1 short text, 1 tune)
File: ScNF124

Moanin'


DESCRIPTION: Leader (preacher): "De trumpet sounds in my soul" (congregation echoes). "I ain't got long to stay here."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 579-580, "Moanin'" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15563
File: LxA579

Moanish Lady


See Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady) (File: San011)

Mobile Bay


DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "From Liverpool Town we sailed away - CH: John come tell us as we haul away. Outward bound at the break of day - CH. Aye, aye, haul aye - CH." Several verses refer to Mobile Bay and to women. Probably started as a Negro cotton stowing song.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1938
KEYWORDS: shanty work
FOUND IN: Britain US
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Colcord, p. 118, "Mobile Bay" (1 short text, 1 tune)
Harlow, pp. 86-87, "Mobile Bay" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill, pp. 287-288, "John, Come Tell Us As We Haul Away" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbEd, pp. 210-211]
Roud #4696
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Stow'n' Sugar in de Hull Below" (some verses)
NOTES: Hugill explains that this was one of a very few shanties that would use two singers for the solo lines, alternating verses. - SL
File: Hugi287

Mochyn Du (The Black Pig)


DESCRIPTION: Shanty. Explains that the black pig is dying, and that now they'll have to do without bacon. Chorus laments the passing of the pig, "Oh, our hearts are very sore...." Based on a Welsh folk song.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill)
KEYWORDS: shanty worksong foreignlanguage animal food
FOUND IN: Wales
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill, pp. 238-239, "Mochyn Du" (2 text-English & Welsh, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Hob-y-derri-dando" (English verses often interchanged with this)
cf. "Cosher Bailey's Engine" (tune)
NOTES: See also notes to "Hob-Y-Derri-Dando." English words often sung to the same tune go "Dave Davy comes from Nevin, an' he's got a little engine, An' he cannot do without it, 'Cos he thinks so much about it. Ch. Wass you effer see (x3) such a funny thing before?" - SL
File: Hugi238

Mockingbird Song


See Hush, Little Baby (File: SBoA164)

Mode o' Wooing, The


DESCRIPTION: "Young men when that they do arrive Between a score and twenty-five... [are inclined] To gang away a-wooing, a woo woo wooing." The singer tells of asking advice on how to court, but the old men's advice is bad. He has better luck asking an old woman
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1900 (Stokoe/Reay)
KEYWORDS: youth courting questions
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North),Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Stokoe/Reay, pp. 106-107, "The Mode o' Wooing" (1 text, 1 tune)
Greig #176, pp. 1-2, "The Mode o' Wooing" (1 text)
GreigDuncan4 908, "The Mode o' Wooing" (4 texts, 4 tunes)
ST StoR106 (Partial)
Roud #3151
File: StoR106

Modesty Answer, The


See Seventeen Come Sunday [Laws O17] (File: LO17)

Mole in the Ground


See I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground (File: BAF900)

Mole-Catcher, The


DESCRIPTION: The old molecatcher learns that his wife is carrying on with a young farmer. He catches them in the act, and demands ten pounds of the farmer for "tilling my ground." The farmer says that's a fair price, "For that won't amount t'above tuppence a time."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905
KEYWORDS: adultery sex trick commerce humorous bawdy
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South,West))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Kennedy 206, "The Mole-Catcher" (1 text, 1 tune)
Copper-SoBreeze, pp. 268-269, "The Molecatcher" (1 text, 1 tune)
MacSeegTrav 38, "The Molecatcher" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MOLECATCH*
Roud #1052
RECORDINGS:
A. L. Lloyd, "The Molecatcher" (on Lloyd1)
File: K206

Moll Boy's Courtship


See Pretty Polly (I) (Moll Boy's Courtship) [Laws O14] (File: LO14)

Mollie and Willie


DESCRIPTION: When Mollie (?) refuses to marry Willie (?), he sets off to be a soldier. She dresses in soldier's clothes and follows him. He tells his fellow "soldier" of his love for Mollie. She starts to cry, and her identity is revealed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1945 (Brown)
KEYWORDS: love soldier cross-dressing trick reunion
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BrownII 98, "Mollie and Willie" (1 text)
ST BrII098 (Full)
Roud #6571
NOTES: The editors of Brown speculate that this is a defective version of "Polly Oliver." I really don't see it. It looks more like "The Banks of the Nile." But the differences in the (disordered) Brown text are large enough that I treat this as a separate ballad until I find something more similar. - RBW
File: BrII098

Mollie Bond


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Mollie Vaughn


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Agnew


DESCRIPTION: The singer is vexed that the Irish are "forced from their nation." He meets Molly Agnew, a poor servant girl. Her rich father had been slain in 1799, and his family driven "to beg, starve or die." She agrees to marry the singer and go to old Scotia.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1854 (broadside, Bodleian 2806 b.11(175))
KEYWORDS: marriage rebellion death servant hardtimes Ireland Scotland father
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-SNewBrunswick 30, "Molly Agnew" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2750
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 2806 b.11(175), "Molly Agnew"[partly illegible] ("On the nineteenth of July, in the year twenty-nine"), The Poet's Box (Glasgow), 1854; also Harding B 17(196b), "Molly Angew"[sic but only in the title][partly illegible]
SAME TUNE:
The Girl I Love Best (tune, per broadside Bodleian Harding B 17(196b))
NOTES: The Bodleian broadsides 2806 b.11(175) and Harding B 17(196b) are more complete than Creighton-SNewBrunswick and are the source for the description. - BS
I have to suspect that this is based some other emigration song which lacks the political motif. It reminds me a bit of "The Poor Stranger (Two Strangers in the Mountains Alone)." - RBW
File: CrSNB030

Molly and Tenbrooks [Laws H27]


DESCRIPTION: In the race between (Molly) and (Ten Broeck), Molly at first takes the lead. Ten Broeck tells his jockey to let him run free, and proceeds to overtake the mare.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: racing horse
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
July 4, 1878 - race between Ten Broeck and Miss Mollie McCarthy (won by Ten Broeck)
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW)
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Laws H27, "Ten Broeck and Mollie"
Thomas-Makin', pp. 126-127, (no title) (1 short text, probably of this song although it does little except describe Ten Broeck)
DT 652, MOLLTEN (MOLLTEN2)
Roud #2190
RECORDINGS:
Warde Ford, "The Hole in the Wall / Timbrooks and Molly" (AFS 4210 A1, 1939; in AMMEM/Cowell)
Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, "Molly and Tenbrooks" (Columbia 20612, 1949)
Sonny Osborne, "Molly and Tenbrooks" (Kentucky 605, n.d.)
The Stanley Brothers, "Molly And Tenbrooks" (Rich-R-Tone 418, 1948)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Timbrook" (subject)
cf. "Old Timbrook Blues" (subject)
cf. "Liza Jane" (lyrics)
cf. "Run Mollie Run" (lyrics)
cf. "Skewball" [Laws Q22] (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Run, Molly, Run
NOTES: The "short description" above mirrors the plot as given by Laws. In my experience, however, almost all versions of this song credit Molly, not Ten Broek, as the winner. Of course, many of these texts may have been influenced by the popularized Bill Monroe version, "Molly and Tenbrooks."
Every version of this piece that Laws was aware of came from two articles by Wilgus (both in Kentucky Folklore Record, Vol II, #3 and Vol. II, #4). Wilgus reports that "A match race in Kentucky was arranged at $5,000 a side for a three-heat race, all heats to be four miles each. If either horse was distanced in a heat, the other horse was to be declared automatically the winner."
"The July 4, 1878 match race in which the Kentucky thoroughbred Ten Broeck defeated the mare Miss Mollie McCarthy went into the record books as the last four-mile heat race in American turf history."
As it turned out, Mollie led for much of the first race, then staggered and was distanced, ending the contest. Both sides started trading charges: That Ten Broeck had been poisoned, that the state of the track affected the outcome, etc.
Wilgus sees a relationship with "Skewball" [Laws Q22], and the possibility of a relationship cannot be denied. Laws, however, does not note the connection. As Laws makes the observation that the ballad shows "extreme verbal variation," he may have thought that similarities to "Skewball" either coincidence or later grafts. - RBW
File: LH27

Molly and the Baby


DESCRIPTION: "There's a patient little woman here below, And a little kid that ought to have a show, Now I'll give the whiskey up and I'll take a coffee cup With Molly and the baby don't you know." The singer vows to give up drinking for the sake of his family
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1935 (Aurora Advertiser)
KEYWORDS: drink family promise
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 338, "Molly and the Baby" (1 text)
Roud #7810
File: R338

Molly Ban


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Baun Lavery


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Bawn (II)


See The Irish Girl (File: HHH711)

Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36]


DESCRIPTION: Jimmy goes out hunting and shoots his true love (Molly, mistaking her for a swan). He is afraid of the law, but is told that the law will forgive him. At his trial Molly's ghost appears and explains the situation; the young man is freed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1806 (Jamieson)
KEYWORDS: hunting death trial reprieve help ghost
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So) Britain(England) Ireland Canada(Mar,Newf)
REFERENCES (27 citations):
Laws O36, "Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear)"
Randolph 54, "Molly Vaughn" (3 texts plus 2 fragments and 1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Eddy 77, "Mollie Vaughn (Polly Band)" (1 text)
Gardner/Chickering 14, "Molly Baun" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Linscott, pp. 274-276, "Polly Van" (1 text, 1 tune)
Karpeles-Newfoundland 26, "Shooting of His Dear" (1 text, 1 tune)
Creighton-Maritime, p. 111, "As Jimmie Went A-Hunting" (1 text, 1 tune)
BrownII 76, "Molly Bawn" (1 text plus a fragment)
Scarborough-SongCatcher, p. 117, "Molly Vaughn" (1 text, properly titled "The Death of Molly Bender," with very peculiar orthography; it looks like it came from a semi-literate manuscript but is said to be from a field recording)
Chappell-FSRA 57, "Polly Bond" (1 fragment)
SharpAp 50, "Shooting of His Dear" (6 texts, 6 tunes)
Hudson 32, pp. 145-146, "Shooting of His Dear" (2 texts)
Leach, pp. 700-701, "Molly Bawn" (1 text)
Friedman, p. 26, "Molly Bawn" (1 text)
PBB 92, "Young Molly Ban" (1 text)
McNeil-SFB1, pp. 96-97, "Molly Van" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, p. 196, "Molly Baun Lavery" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hodgart, p. 206, "Young Molly Ban" (1 text)
SHenry H114, p. 143, "Molly Bawn Lowry" (1 text, 1 tune)
OLochlainn 29, "Young Molly Ban" (1 text, 1 tune)
Morton-Maguire 1, pp. 1-2,99,154-155, "Molly Bawn Lowry" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kennedy 330, "Polly Vaughan" (2 text, 1 tune)
JHCox 102, "Mollie Vaughn" (3 texts, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 33, pp. 78-79, "Mollie Bond" (1 text)
Darling-NAS, pp. 133-134, "Molly Bawn"; "Molly Bander" (2 texts)
DT 308, POLLYVON POLLVON1 POLLVON2
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), p. 304, "Young Molly Bawn" (1 short text)
Roud #166
RECORDINGS:
Louis Boutilier, "As Jimmie Went A-Hunting" (on MRHCreighton)
Anne Briggs, "Polly Vaughan" (on Briggs1, Briggs3)
Packie Manus Byrne, "Molly Bawn" (on Voice06)
Sara Cleveland, "Molly Bawn" (on SCleveland01)
Seamus Ennis, "Molly Bawn" (on Lomax42, LomaxCD1742)
A. L. Lloyd, "Polly Vaughan" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741)
John Maguire, "Molly Bawn Lowry" (on IRJMaguire01)
Maggie Murphy, "Molly Bawn" (on IRHardySons)
Pete Seeger, "Shoo Fly" (on PeteSeeger33, PeteSeegerCD03)
Phoebe Smith, "Molly Vaughan" (on Voice03)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 19(11), "Young Molly Bawn," J.F. Nugent & Co. (Dublin), 1850-1899; also 2806 b.11(131), "Young Molly Bawn"
LOCSinging, as111140, "Polly Von Luther and Jamie Randall," J. Andrews (New York), 1853-1859
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Molly Ban
Peggy Baun
Lord Kenneth and Fair Ellinour
NOTES: Darling compares this to the story of Cephalus and Procris. The standard version is supplied by Ovid in the Metamorphoses (VII.685 and following; it starts on page 174 of the Penguin edition translated by Mary M. Innes). First he tested her love in disguise, and she passed the test. But then she heard a rumor of his unfaithfulness, and set out to watch him. He heard her in hiding, without seeing her, and threw his javelin on the assumption that she was a wild beast. It killed her.
Incidentally, Michael Grant and John Hazel, Gods and Mortals in Classical Mythology: A Dictionary, article on Cephalus, thinks Ovid's version of the story may conflate legends of two different heroes named Cephalus. In any case, I don't see a particularly strong parallel to the ballad; yes, the hunter kills his lover, but the motivations are very different. - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging as111140: 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: LO36

Molly Bawn Lowry


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Bonder


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Brannigan


See Polly Brannigan (File: E153E)

Molly Brooks (I)


DESCRIPTION: "Molly Brooks has gone to the isle (x3), And I hope she'll never return (x3), Molly Brooks has gone to the isle, And I hope she'll never return."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad travel
FOUND IN: US(MW,So)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Randolph 529, "Molly Brooks" (1 text, 1 tune)
Huntington-Whalemen, p. 274, "Moll Brooks" (1 text, 1 tune -- a fragment which is placed here by the manuscript title; Roud [#2075] files it with "I Lost My Love and I Dinna Ken Hoo," though it has really only one line in common)
Roud #7642
NOTES: This probably springs from the same roots as Molly Brooks (II), a dance to the tune of "Malbrouk." Since, however, Randolph's version has lost the tune (which in this case is diagnostic), I have classified them separately. - RBW
File: R529

Molly Brooks (II)


See Malbrouck (File: K108)

Molly Maguires, The


DESCRIPTION: A song "in praise of Molly's sons." "They can root out all Defenders and plant the Laurel Tree." Seeing them in St Patrick's day finery "while the Ribbon Bands did play" the singer prays "That the Lord may enable Molly's sons to tear down tyranny."
AUTHOR: John Maguire (source: Morton-Maguire)
EARLIEST DATE: 1973 (Morton-Maguire)
KEYWORDS: Ireland nonballad political
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Morton-Maguire 9, pp. 21-22,103,158, "The Molly Maguires" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2923
NOTES: Morton-Maguire: "Tradition has it that the Molly Maguires were formed in the early nineteenth-century after the Catholic neighbors of a Co. Tyrone widow, Molly Maguire, had successfully foiled an attempt to evict her. The success spurred them to combine to carry out similar defensive action in other areas." Morton continues "I find John's song somewhat confusing for various reasons": The Defenders were a Catholic organization that you would expect to be on the same side as the Molly Maguires but, since there was no great Orange threat in Fermanagh, there could have been conflict between Catholic organizations; on the other hand there was no alliance between the Molly Maguires and the more extreme Catholic Ribbonmen.
Why a "laurel tree"? I don't find any association, for example, between the Liberty Tree and laurel (see "The Liberty Tree," "Ireland's Liberty Tree," "Plant, Plant the Tree" and Zimmermann's discussion of the Liberty Tree: pp. 41-43, 85-86, 255-256). - BS
In classical mythology, and in Roman history, the laurel, or the bay, is associated with victory, and is also said to ward off evil spirits. I don't know of any overwhelming reason to connect that legend with Ireland, but it's probably more likely than a link between "laurel" and "liberty."
The Molly Maguires were not a particularly noteworthy group; I checked seven histories without finding a single mention of them. But they loomed larger in legend. Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia described them as "An Irish secret society organized in 1843. Stout, active young Irishmen dressed up in women's clothes,blackened faces, and otherwise disguised themselves to surprise those employed to enforce the payments of rents. Their victims were ducked in bog-holes, and many were beaten most unmercifully." And this Irish group inspired the American Molly Maguires, which fought against the Pennsylvania coal bosses -- and largely failed. The American Mollies are the chief subject of "Muff Lawler, the Squealer." [Laws E25].
The Mollies, in both their American and Irish forms, inspired sundry other songs -- e.g. there is one by Phil Coulter in the Digital Tradition. Few if any made it into tradition. - RBW
File: MoMa009

Molly Malone


DESCRIPTION: Singer tells of meeting sweet Molly Malone in Dublin, where she sold shellfish from a barrow; her parents were also fishmongers. She dies of a fever; now her ghost wheels the barrow. Chorus: "Singing 'Cockles and mussels, alive, alive-o"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1947 (Hoagland; Fireside Book of Folk Songs)
KEYWORDS: death food worker ghost disease commerce
FOUND IN: US Ireland
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 124, "Molly Malone" (1 text)
DT, MOLLYMAL*
ADDITIONAL: Kathleen Hoagland, editor, One Thousand Years of Irish Poetry (New York, 1947), p. 256, "Cockles and Mussels" (1 text)
Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, p. 12, "Molly Malone" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #16392
RECORDINGS:
Pete Seeger, "Molly Malone" (on PeteSeeger32)
BROADSIDES:
NLScotland, L.C.Fol.70(82a), "Cockles and Mussels. Aliv, O" (sic.), Poet's Box (Dundee), c. 1890
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Walnut Girl" (subject)
NOTES: We don't have "peddler" as a keyword -- pity. Meanwhile, I believe this started out as a Tin Pan Alley song? For better or for worse, it seems to have entered tradition -- at least, at every Irish gig I've played, some drunk asks for it. - PJS
Although the Poet's Box broadside is the earliest version I've found, it can hardly be the original; incredibly badly printed (Apart from the title, it can't decide if Miss Malone is Molly or "Melly," and the chorus runs "Alive, alive, O! alive, alive O! Crying Cockles and! alive, alive, O!"), and no tune is indicated. It has to be derivative.
The only source I've ever seen with a listed author was Robert Gogan's 130 Great Irish Ballads, which says that there is a London printing from 1884 calling it a comic song and attributing it to James Yorkston. I know nothing else about Yorkston.
Gogan also notes that there is actually a statue of Molly Malone in Dublin. Wish I knew who had put the thing up! - RBW
File: FSWB124B

Molly McGlocklin


DESCRIPTION: The marries Molly McGlocklin. She prefers Finnigan who "his gizzard he broke." Molly mourns; the singer hits her and fights the Finnigans. After the burial she attacks him; he throws her in the grave. HeÕs single now and will dance but won't marry again
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1867 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 11(2962))
KEYWORDS: marriage fight death funeral burial humorous family
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf) Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
O'Conor, p. 42, "Mister Finagan" (1 text)
Roud #5746
RECORDINGS:
Jack Swain, "Finnigan's Wake II" (on NFMLeach)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 11(2962), "Pat Finnigan," J. Harkness (Preston), 1840-1866; also Harding B 26(37), "Barnaby Finegan"; 2806 b.11(184), "Barnaby Finnegan"
NOTES: Leach (NFMLeach notes) says "Finnigan's Wake" "is a local title; it is more generally known as Molly McGlocklin" - BS
File: RcMolMcG

Molly Put the Kettle On (Polly Put the Kettle On)


DESCRIPTION: "(Molly/Polly/Kitty) put the kettle on, Sally blow the dinner horn... We'll all take tea." Often a fiddle tune with the usual sorts of verses for a fiddle tune
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1841 (_Barnaby Rudge_ by Charles Dickens, according to Opie-Oxford2)
KEYWORDS: nonballad floatingverses food dancetune playparty
FOUND IN: US(Ap) Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (5 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1684, "Molly, Put the Kettle On" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cambiaire, p. 133, "Jennie Put the Kettle On" (1 text, which looks like a playparty based on this chorus)
Opie-Oxford2 420, "Polly put the kettle on" (2 texts)
Darling-NAS, p. 256, "Molly Put the Kettle On" (1 text)
Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #237, p. 153, "(Polly put the kettle on)"
Roud #7899
RECORDINGS:
Leake County Revelers, "Molly Put the Kettle On" (Columbia 15380-D, 1929; rec. 1928)
Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers, "Molly Put The Kettle On" (Columbia 15746-D, 1932; on GoingDown)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pakenham" (form)
SAME TUNE:
Jennie's Bawbee (so Herd, according to Opie-Oxford2)
NOTES: Opie-Oxford2 re 420: "Around 1810 the song was clearly the rage in London."
The following broadside refers to the original song and quotes it as a chorus.
Bodleian, Harding B 11(4332), "Polly Put the Kettle On" ("I am a merry, happy chap"), C. Sheard (London), 1840-1866 - BS
According to Eric Partridge's A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (combined fifth edition with dictionary and supplement, Macmillan, 1961), this was a c[atch] p[hrase] from around 1870, since become obsolescent. He attributes it to "the song of Grip, the Raven (Dickens)." Since Dickens was born 1812, the poem would appear to precede him, but he may well have added to its popularity.
The book involved, Barnaby Rudge, is based on the anti-Catholic riot of June 1780, but is influenced, e.g., by Sir Walter Scott, so there is no particular reason to think the catch-phrase dates from c. 1780.
Grip is the mentally deficient Barnaby's pet raven, given to phrases such as "I'm a devil," "Never say die," and "Polly, put the kettle on." The latter quote occurs in chapter 17.
According to John Baynes with John Laffin, Soldiers of Scotland, Brassey's, 1988 (I use the 1997 Barnes & Noble edition), p. 105, when arranged for pipes, is known as "Jenny's Bawbee," and is used as a "Tea Call" by several Scottish regiments. The Opies say that "Jenny's Bawbee" is mentioned by Herd, - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: DarNS256

Molly Stewart


See Bonnie Mally Stewart (File: FVS174)

Molly Van


See Molly Bawn (Shooting of His Dear) [Laws O36] (File: LO36)

Molly Was a Good Gal


See Row, Molly, Row (Molly Was a Good Gal) (File: BMRF590A)

Molly, Asthore


See Gramachree (File: HHH204)

Molly, I'm the Man


See The Banks of Claudy [Laws N40] (File: LN40)

Molly, Lovely Molly


DESCRIPTION: Molly hears a voice at her window; it is her old love returned. She bids him leave; he has courted other women. He replies that it was his master's orders which took him away. His ship leaves tomorrow; will she come with him? She agrees to do so
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: love separation reunion
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H557, pp. 478-479, "Molly, Lovely Molly" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9456
NOTES: Some versions of The Cruel Ship's Carpenter [Laws P36] share a title and/or metrical form with this ballad. The plots are so completely different, however, that I would not even have noted the similarity had not there been a note in the Henry collection pointing out the (lack of) common material. - RBW
File: HHH557

Molly, My Dear


DESCRIPTION: When harvest is over the men's "hearts filled wi' love and their pockets wi' money" and they ask the girls to go with them. Dermot asks Molly to go north with him. She prefers him to Thady "wi' his blarney" and "love songs of the Lake o' Killarney"
AUTHOR: Robert Tannahill (1774-1810)
EARLIEST DATE: c.1838 (Ramsay)
KEYWORDS: courting farming harvest money Ireland Scotland
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
GreigDuncan4 861, "The Harvest is Ower" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Phillip A Ramsay, The Poetical Works of Robert Tannahill (London, c.1838), pp. 44-45, "Molly, My Dear"
Roud #6246
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Miss Molly" (tune, per Ramsay)
File: GrD4861

Mon Amour (My Love)


DESCRIPTION: French. Singer tells the charms of her beloved shepherd and tells him (via a passing turtledove) to be true forever
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love virtue nonballad shepherd lover bird
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 26, "Mon Amour (My Love)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: It's nicer in French. - PJS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BerV026

Mon Berger (My Shepherd)


DESCRIPTION: rench. Shepherdess sings about the merits of her shepherd. He's somewhere else, she knows not where, but if she knew she'd tell him she loves him. If he comes home, she swears she'll marry him tonight.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1946 (BerryVin)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage love shepherd lyric
FOUND IN: US(MW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
BerryVin, p. 60, "Mon Berger (My Shepherd)" (1 text + translation, 1 tune)
NOTES: If it sounds cloying, that's because it is. Even the editors of BerryVin suggest this is a composed piece, not long in tradition, suggesting delicately, "These compositions are often characterized by a definite artificiality of sentiment.". - PJS
They are also characterized by shepherdesses.... - RBW
Last updated in version 2.5
File: BerV060

Mon Bon Ami Va Venir Ce Soir (My Good Friend Will Come This Evening)


DESCRIPTION: French. The singer's good friend comes to see his, undresses and sleeps in his bed. Near midnight she says Hello. The singer says thanks for the hello, but had hoped for more. To lead quail to corn, you have to know how to serve it.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1959 (Peacock)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage sex lover
FOUND IN: Canada(Newf)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Peacock, pp. 300-301, "Mon Bon Ami Va Venir Ce Soir" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: "Quail" -- that is "caille" -- here likely has the same connotation, that is "young woman," in French slang as it does in US slang. See, for example "Suburban slang greets visitors to France" by John Lichfield, June 6, 2001, "In ...verlan -- the ... language of ... French, suburban youth -- there are more than 50 ways of referring to women. They include "...caille..." from the New Zealand Herald site. - BS
File: Pea300

Mon Cher Voisin (My Dear Neighbor)


DESCRIPTION: French. My neighbor sent me to find a worn out old horse. Let's drink, sharpen our knives and skin it. He soothes the horse: no more demands will be made, no more pulling a master and his luggage.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Creighton-Maritime)
KEYWORDS: foreignlanguage execution horse
FOUND IN: Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Creighton-Maritime, p. 129, "Mon Cher Voisin" (1 text, 1 tune)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Pawkie Paiterson's Auld Grey Yaud" (theme)
cf. "Poor Old Horse (III)" (theme)
NOTES: The description is based on Alan Mills's translation in Creighton-Maritime. - BS
File: CrMa129

Mona (You Shall Be Free)


See Mourner, You Shall Be Free (Moanish Lady) (File: San011)

Moncton Tragedy, The


See John Sullivan (The Moncton Tragedy) (File: Dib057)

Monday Morning


See Next Monday Morning (File: ShH38)

Monday was my Courting Day, A


See My Wife Died on Saturday Night (File: RcMWDOSN)

Mone, Member, Mone


DESCRIPTION: "Tell-a me who had a rod, Mone, member, mone! Hit was Moses, child of God, Mone, member, mone!" A call-and-answer sermon describing the crossing of the Red Sea, listing the order of those who will go to heaven, and calling for repentance
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1934
KEYWORDS: religious nonballad
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 578-579, "Mone, Member, Mone" (1 text)
Roud #15562
NOTES: One suspects that this was sort of a preacher's "zipper" text -- any story could be zipped in to replace the Exodus account. But I've never seen this in any other form, so I can't say with certainty. - RBW
File: LxA578

Money


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, money is the meat in the coconut, O money is the milk in the jug; When you've got lots of money You feel very funny, You're as happy as a bug in a rug."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1927 (Sandburg)
KEYWORDS: money food
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Sandburg, p. 112, "Money" (1 short text (perhaps just the chorus), 1 tune)
File: San112

Money, Money, Oh Sweet Money


DESCRIPTION: "Long time ago I had a beau, He came a-courting me, Because he thought that I had wealth...." The girl tests him by informing him she has no money. He drops her at once. She warns others, "Let them find you're minus of gold And you'll be minus of beaux."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1942 (Randolph)
KEYWORDS: love courting money abandonment
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Randolph 484, "Money, Money, Oh Sweet Money" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7637
File: R484

Moneygran Pig Hunt, The


DESCRIPTION: "There was racing and chasing in old Moneygran," as pigs bid humans catch them and say they are "Home Rulers and Fenians and Orange pigs too." The "warhawks" pursue, but "the pigs are the winners in old Moneygran."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: Words: 1924 (Northern Constitution); as a song, 1937 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: political racing animal
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H731, pp. 22-23, "The Moneygran Pig Hunt" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13345
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bonnets o' Bonny Dundee" (tune)
cf. "The Bold Tenant Farmer" (subject)
cf. The Barrymore Tithe Victory" (theme)
cf. "The Sow's Triumph Over the Peelers" (theme)
NOTES: Said to be based on an incident from 1876, when law officials were sent to the Mercers estate to collect back rent. The tenants loosed their pigs, and the police tried to catch them.
The song is said to be associated with the Land Leagues, a group arising out of the complex interactions between Britain and Ireland. The election of 1868 brought Gladstone to power, but also gave Charles Stewart Parnell a decisive voice in parliament. In 1870, Gladstone passed a Land Act, but the House of Lords rejected it.
The Irish reaction was the Land Leagues, tenant organizations intended to curb excessive rents. They were basically non-violent, but they did resist pressure from landlords in all sorts of creative ways.
The Land Leagues finally faded in 1881 when Gladstone managed to get a true rent reform bill passed (though at the cost of a Coercion Act used to suppress the worst radicals). For further details, see the notes on "The Bold Tenant Farmer."
The reference to the pigs being "Home Rulers and Fenians and Orange" is an observation on the personal politics of those who wanted relief from rents: They ranged from radical Irishmen (Fenians) to conservatives, often Protestant, who wanted Home Rule, to the Ulster Protestants who wanted to be part of Britain but still needed rent reform. - RBW
File: HHH731

Monk McClamont's "Farewell to Articlave"


DESCRIPTION: In (18)40, the singer prepares to sail for America on the Provincial. The ship being becalmed, he has time to see, and mourn, the land he is leaving behind. He praises the captain and crew of the ship
AUTHOR: Monk McClamont
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Sam Henry collection)
KEYWORDS: ship emigration farewell
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
SHenry H65b, p. 166-187, "Monk McClamont's 'Farewell to Articlave'" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13542
File: HHH065b

Monk of Great Renown, The


DESCRIPTION: A monk has sex with one or more women until his fellows abruptly put a halt to his misadventures.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE:
KEYWORDS: bawdy sex death burial
FOUND IN: Canada Britain(England) US(MW,SW)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Cray, pp. 37-42, "The Monk of Great Renown" (3 texts, 1 tune); a piece to a different tune but with the same sort of plot occurs on p. 265 under "Ditties"
Roud #10137
RECORDINGS:
Anonymous singer, "The Monk of Priory Hall" (on Unexp1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Horse Shit"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Squire of Great Renown
File: EM037

Monkey and the Baboon, The


DESCRIPTION: "The monkey and the baboon playing seven-up The monkey won the money And was scared to pick it up." "The monkey and the baboon Running a race. The monkey fell down And skint his face." "The monkey... climbed a tree... threw a cocoanut..."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal cards humorous floatingverses
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 180, "The Monkey and the Baboon" (1 text)
NOTES: The stanza about X and Y playing seven-up of course occurs with many protagonists (white man and black, David and Goliath, Adam and Eve); one wonders a little if its use here is not some sort of allegory. - RBW
File: ScaNF180

Monkey and the Elephant, The


DESCRIPTION: "The monkey and the elephant were riding on a rail, The elephant said, 'Oh, monkey, you look so doggone frail.'" Other animals also fight. So do the singer's Mom and Dad. The singer discusses his history of courting. Many verses float
AUTHOR: probably adapted by John Daniel Vass
EARLIEST DATE: 1960 (recorded by Shellans from John Daniel Vass)
KEYWORDS: courting animal humorous mother father rejection humorous nonballad
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Shellans, pp. 48-49, "The Monkey and the Elephant" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7330
NOTES: The number of floating lines in this song is high: "If I had a scolding wife," "I went to see Miss Annie, I'll never go no more, Her shoes and stockin's in her hand," and references to courting Cindy. Other portions feel adapted from traditional song. My suspicion is that this is a rewrite by John Daniel Vass of an assortment of traditional songs. Vass gave his treatment to several other songs, producing items which are long, invertebrate -- and, to my mind, not really very good when considered as a whole. - RBW
File: Shel048

Monkey Married the Baboon's Sister


See The Monkey's Wedding (File: San113)

Monkey Motions


DESCRIPTION: "I act monkey motions, too-re-loo, I act monkey motions, so I do; I act 'em well an' dat's a fact -- I act just like de monkeys act." "I act gen'man motions...." "I act lady motions...." Similarly for children's motions, preachers' motions, etc.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: playparty nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 133, "Monkey Motions" (1 text)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "What's the Lady's Motion? (Skip O'er the Mountain)" (form)
File: ScaNF133

Monkey Sitting on the End of a Rail


DESCRIPTION: "Monkey settin' on de end uf a rail, Pickin' his teeth wid de end uf his tail, Mulberry leaves un' calico sleeves, All school teachers is so hard to please." Rest floats: The redbird shaking 'simmons down, the singer is tired of sleeping alone
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1925 (Scarborough)
KEYWORDS: animal floatingverses bird food
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 193, (no title) (1 text, with varying stanza forms)
File: ScNF193B

Monkey Turned Barber, The [Laws Q14]


DESCRIPTION: Pat enters the barber's and asks for a shave. A monkey in clothes winks and sets to work. Pat screams with pain; the monkey disappears. The barber enters. Pat accuses his "father" of having cut him. Finally the truth comes out
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1916 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: animal abuse humorous
FOUND IN: US(MW,So) Canada(Mar)
REFERENCES (5 citations):
Laws Q14, "The Monkey Turned Barber"
Belden, pp. 249-251, "The Monkey Turned Barber" (3 texts, but B2 is "The Love-of-God Shave")
Beck 82, "Irishman's Lumber Song" (1 text)
Creighton/Senior, pp. 239-240, "Wild Irishman" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT 525, MONKBARB MANKBAR2
Roud #918
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Wild Irishman
NOTES: There is a broadside, NLScotland, F.3.a.13(5), "The Monkey Barber," unknown (Edinburgh), 1825, which tells this story in prose, with rather more substantial detail. It's not clear whether it is the source of this song, or a retelling; I suspect the latter.
File: LQ14

Monkey's Wedding, The


DESCRIPTION: "The monkey married the baboon's sister, Gave her a ring and then he kissed her, He kissed so hard he raised a blister, She set up a yell." Verses, often nonsensical, about the proceedings at the wedding
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1865 (broadside, LOCSinging sb30342a)
KEYWORDS: animal wedding nonsense humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber)) US(MA,MW,NE,SE,So)
REFERENCES (8 citations):
GreigDuncan8 1903, "A Monkey's Wedding" (1 text)
BrownIII 181, "The Monkey Married the Baboon's Sister" (1 short text plus 2 excerpts)
Gardner/Chickering 197, "The Monkey's Wedding" (1 text)
Linscott, pp. 241-243, "The Monkey's Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune)
Sandburg, p. 113, "The Monkey's Wedding" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, p. 180, (no title) (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadWeep, pp. 68-69, [no title] (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert, p. 114, [no title] (1 text)
ST San113 (Partial)
Roud #3123
BROADSIDES:
LOCSinging, sb30342a, "The Monkey's Wedding" ("The monkey married the baboon's sister"), H. De Marsan (New York), 1861-1864
NOTES: Linscott lists this as being sung to "The Drunken Sailor," and it will fit that tune -- but her tune is not quite the usual "Drunken Sailor." - RBW
Broadside LOCSinging sb30342a: H. De Marsan dating per Studying Nineteenth-Century Popular Song by Paul Charosh in American Music, Winter 1997, Vol 15.4, Table 1, available at FindArticles site. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: San113

Monquhitter's Lonely Hill


DESCRIPTION: "I love Monquhitter's lonely hills." The singer was born there and knows "ilka neuk." He describes the heather bells, bonnie "woods and waters o' Auchry," a lovely spot by a mill, "the birdies' evening sang" and trout swimming in the brook.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: lyric home
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan3 510, "Monquhitter's Lonely Hill" (1 text)
Roud #5994
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; Auchry (510) is at coordinate (h5,v8) on that map [roughly 31 miles NNW of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.4
File: GrD3510

Montague, The


DESCRIPTION: "The Montague packet left Wexford at ten, With a fine stock of cattle and a fine crew of men, Hee Ho, Heave away, ho." Montague gets stuck in the sand and the cargo is lost: two cows, six sheep, a goat, and a sow.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1943 (Ranson)
KEYWORDS: sea ship wreck animal
FOUND IN: Ireland
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ranson, p. 27, "The Montague" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #7355
NOTES: Possibly Montagu, a Liverpool steamship [which] "struck the bar at Wexford" April 25, 1878 (source: Bourke in Shipwrecks of the Irish Coast v1, p. 51). - BS
File: Ran027

Montcalm and Wolfe, (Ballad of)


See Brave Wolfe [Laws A1] (File: LA01)

Month of May, The


See The Merry Haymakers (File: HHH697)

Monthly Rose, The


DESCRIPTION: Man and woman compare each other, privately, to a diamond or pearl, a rose, and so on. She is afraid "another will enjoy him." He overhears her and proposes. "I'll lock the door with marriage So that none durst enter in"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1875 (GreigDuncan5)
KEYWORDS: courting love marriage flowers
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Greig #167, p. 1, "The Monthly Rose" (1 text)
GreigDuncan5 990, "The Monthly Rose" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud #6299
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Oh Gin My Love War a Red Rose" (some verses)
NOTES: GreigDuncan5 990A fragment: "'From MS. of George F Duncan (1875) ...." The fragment text -- "But I'm sure it will never be me; Never be me; But I'm sure it will never be me" -- does not appear in the Greig text, which is also the other GreigDuncan5 text. The editors must have included it here because of the source's memory of the drift of the song.
Greig: "From this song and another 'When you are on the sea sailing,' ... Burns evidently got material for his famous song 'Oh, my love is like a red red rose.'" See Robert Burns, The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns (New Lanark,2005), p. 395, "A Red, Red Rose." - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD5990

Months of the Year, The


DESCRIPTION: "January is the first month, the sun goes very low... We shall see an alteration, before the year comes round." The song catalogs the months, describing how farmers spend the time
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1905 (Sharp)
KEYWORDS: nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(England(South))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Kennedy 256, "The Months of the Year" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #1954
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Calendar Rhymes"
ALTERNATE TITLES:
The Seasons
File: K256

Monto


DESCRIPTION: "Well, if you've got a wing-o, Take me up to ring-o, Where the waxies sing-o, all the day." Various people in Dublin set out to accomplish some end or other, fail, and console themselves by asking, "Take me up to Monto."
AUTHOR: George Hodnett
EARLIEST DATE: 1982 (Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book); reportedly written 1958
KEYWORDS: whore Ireland political
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (2 citations):
DT, MONTO*
ADDITIONAL: Frank Harte _Songs of Dublin_, second edition, Ossian, 1993, pp. 60-61, "Monto" (1 text, 1 tune)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Take Me Up to Monto
NOTES: I have never seen definitely-traditional version of this song. But Irish bands seem to sing it without any knowledge of its origin, and the three versions I've seen (Harte's, that in Soodlum's Irish Ballad Book and that in Robert Gogan, 130 Great Irish Ballads (third edition, Music Ireland, 2004), 42) are somewhat different, with the differences being almost always clear errors of hearing, so it possibly belongs here.
The song is intensely political, but you have to know the code to realize what is going on. And I've never seen any analysis that covers everything. Here is what I have come up with, including some of my own conjectures.
"Waxies" are candlemakers.
"Monto" is Montgomery street, Dublin's red light district. Soodlum's says that 1600 prostitutes once worked there, before it was closed down in 1925; Gogan, which is prone to folkloric exaggeration, gives the number of prostitutes as 1800.
"Buckshot" Forster ("Butcher Foster" in Soodlum's and Gogan) is W. E. Forster, known as "Buckshot," a one-time British Chief Secretary for Ireland. According to Kee, p. 86, Forster was given his name because, during his tenure, the police were sometimes given buckshot for ammunition, rather than the more dangerous ball cartridges. This was not his decision, however, and he came to have a bad reputation for violence. Forster resigned his post in the 1880s when Prime Minister Gladstone released Charles Steward Parnell from arrest (for this, see e.g. "The Blackbird of Avondale (The Arrest of Parnell)"; also "Home Rule for Ireland" and the songs cited under those two).
"Carey" and "Skin-the-Goat" were two of those involved in the deadly Phoenix Park murders of 1882 (for which see especially "The Phoenix Park Tragedy"; also "Murder of the Double-Dyed Informer James Carey" and "Skin the Goat's Curse on Carey").
These two mentions would seem to set the song in the mid-1880s. This fits with the mentions of Queen Victoria, who ruled 1837-1901 and who repeatedly visited Ireland (though I doubt she ever weighed eighteen stone even in her later years when she did become stout; she just wasn't tall enough).
A similar date also seems to be implied by the mention of "the Czar of Russia and the King of Prussia." My guess is that this is a reference to Victoria's Golden Jubilee of 1887. Wilhelm II, King of Prussia and Kaiser of Germany, was Victoria's grandson by her daughter Victoria; Nicolas II of Russia was married to Alexandra, the daughter of Victoria's second daughter Alice. Neither had ascended yet (Wilhelm I of Prussia died 1888, and his grandson came to the throne three months later; Nicholas II ascended in 1894) -- and there was a plot to assassinate Victoria, blamed on Irish anarchists, which might explain the mention in this song.
Arguing for a slightly later date is the mention of sending the Dublin Fusiliers overseas, which sounds like a reference to the Boer War which began in 1899; more than 20,000 troops were eventually sent to South Africa. But maybe it's a reference to some other small colonial conflict. There were certainly plenty to choose from.
The mention of the "Duke of Gloucester, the dirty old imposter" is frankly befuddling if we are to date this in the reign of Queen Victoria. At the time of Victoria's birth, the Duke of Gloucester (and of Edinburgh) was William, the nephew of George III (being the son of George's brother William) , who died in 1834 (Sinclair-Stevenson, genealogy inside front cover). Due to the incestuous politics of the House of Hannover, he married late (to his cousin Mary, daughter of George III) and had no legitimate children. He was known as "Silly Billy" (Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 124), and even "The Cheese" (Sinclair-Stevenson, p. 129), so I can imagine broadside writers having a lot of fun with him -- but he was dead before Victoria took the throne. And, strangely enough, none of Victoria's children was given the Dukedom of Gloucester; it eventually went to one of the sons of Victoria's grandson George V. So no matter when this song was set in Victoria's reign, there was no Duke of Gloucester.
I'm guessing this is an error of some sort, and that the actual reference is to Spencer Cavendish, the eighth Duke of Devonshire, who was one of the chief leaders of the Unionist party -- that is, the party that broke away from the Liberals over the issue of Home Rule (Massie,, pp. 235-238).
Of course, the song is said to have been written in the 1950s. I'm not sure what that proves, except that old grudges die hard. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 2.5
File: Hart060

Mony a day hae I followed Duke Willie


See Duke Willie (File: GrD81763)

Monymusk


See The Monymusk Lads (File: Ord068)

Monymusk Lads, The


DESCRIPTION: "As I cam' in by Monymusk And doun by Alford's dale," the singer goes "to see my Maggie dear." He visits at night, but the auld wife detects him and sounds an alarm. The auld man forces him out; he vows to return when the old man snores
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan3)
KEYWORDS: nightvisit courting age escape
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (3 citations):
GreigDuncan3 375, "Monymusk" (2 fragments, 1 tune)
Ord, pp. 68-69, "Rural Courtship" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, MONYMUSK*
Roud #5568
RECORDINGS:
Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger, "The Monymusk Lads" (on SCMacCollSeeger01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Auld Wife to the Bell-Rope Ran" (lyrics)
NOTES: GreigDuncan3: "The song was probably composed before 1876 when the farmer Robert Wilson died and left the farm to his daughter. The full song relates the attempts by a farm servant to court his sweetheart by entering her bedchamber at night."
GreigDuncan3 has a map on p. xxxv, of "places mentioned in songs in volume 3" showing the song number as well as place name; Lethenty (375) is at coordinate (h3,v5-6) on that map [roughly 25 miles WNW of Aberdeen]. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: Ord068

Moody to the Rescue


DESCRIPTION: "Word came down to Derby town in the spring of '59: McGowan's men had smashed the pen & left for the Hill's Bar Mine." Col. Moody finds the miners do not wish to fight on Sunday. Moody says "Things look all right, so where's the fight?" and heads home.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1969 (Fowke/MacMillan)
KEYWORDS: mining gold Canada political humorous
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
1859 - Ned McGowan's War
FOUND IN: Canada(West)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Fowke/MacMillan 5, "Moody to the Rescue" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #17698
SAME TUNE:
The Keach i' the Creel (File: C281)
NOTES: In 1856 gold was discovered near on Fraser River (Vancouver Island), and subsequently the area was host to a massive influx of gold-seekers not only from Canada but America, Europe, and even Australia.
In 1859 two American miners were accused of assault by a man named Dixon. The local magistrate at Fort Yale, named of Whannell, put Dixon in jail for safe keeping and issued a warrant for the two Americans. When they were caught they were put into the jail at Hill's Bar, under the jurisdiction of another magistrate, Perrier. Perrier decided he was going to handle the case and sent a constable to Fort Yale to retrieve Dixon. Whannell refused to release Dixon and instead jailed Perrier's constable. When Perrier heard about this, he deputized Ned McGowan and sent him after Dixon and the constable.
McGowan arrived at Hill's Bar with a dozen armed men and arrested Whannell, charging him with contempt of Perrier's court. The exaggerated account of the proceedings that reached the capital indicated that American miners at Hill's Bar had broken into the jail and were attempting to overthrow the British authority. Colonel R.C. Moody and a force of Royal Engineers and marines were sent out. They arrived, arrested McGowan, and charged him with assault on Whannell. The presiding judge, Begbie, fined McGowan five pounds and lectured all parties (and Whannell and Perrier in particular) on the impartiality of British law. American miners were to receive the same treatment under British law as British citizens, and at the same time the American miners had to understand that on British soil they were to abide by local laws.
This incident became known as 'Ned McGowan's War.'
From Fowke/MacMillan - Collected from Patrick Graber of Vancouver in 1970. Graber says he got the words from 92-year-old Henry Hawkins, who said he had heard it fifty years earlier. Hawkins could only recite the words, not the tune and Graber set the words to 'The Keach i' the Creel' (Child 281). Another source, Billy Wardell of New Westminster, said he had heard "old Harry Wiltshire" sing the song in 1927, and claimed the opening line should be "word came down to Sappertown." - SL
File: FowM005

Moon Shines Bright, The (The Bellman's Song)


DESCRIPTION: "The moon shines bright And the stars give a light." Listeners are told to awake that they may hear the life of Jesus and of the passion: "We ne'er shall do for Jesus Christ as he hath done for us." Listeners are reminded that life is short
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1825 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 28(200))
KEYWORDS: religious Jesus death resurrection warning
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,West))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Leather, pp. 193-194, "The Moon Shines Bright" (1 text plus an excerpt, 2 tunes)
OBC 46, 47, 48, "The Bellman's Song" (1 text, 3 tunes)
DT, BELLMAN*
ADDITIONAL: Ian Bradley, _The Penguin Book of Carols_ (1999), #80, "The Moon Shines Bright" (1 text plus sundry loose stanzas)
Roud #702
RECORDINGS:
Jasper Smith, "The Moon Shine Bright" (on Voice11)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 28(200), "The Moon Shone Bright," W. Armstrong (Liverpool), 1820-1824; also Douce adds. 137(66), Douce adds. 137(8), Johnson Ballads 1392C, Johnson Ballads 1485, "The Moon Shines Bright"; Harding B 7(31), "St. John's Day"; Johnson Ballads 2456, "Carol 2" ("The moon shines bright"); Harding B 25(379), "Christmas carol. III. ("The moon shone bright, & the[sic] gave light")
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "May Day Carol" (lyrics)
cf. "Christ Made a Trance (God Made a Trance)" (lyrics)
cf. "Awake Awake (Awake Sweet England)" (lyrics)
cf. "Here We Come A-Wassailing"
cf. "Somerset Wassail"
NOTES: This song in its current form seems to have originated in broadsides. It has some material in common with May carols, but whether the lyrics originated there (so A. L. Lloyd) or moved from this piece to the May songs is not clear.
The initial lines, "The moon shines bright The stars give a light" are found in Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book, volume II, from around 1744 (see Peter and Iona Opie, I Saw Esau: Traditional Rhymes of Youth, #55), but this is yet another separate piece:
The moon shines Bright
The Stars give a light
And you may kiss
A pretty girl
At ten a clock at Night.
The Baring-Goulds connect the above item with "Now I Am a Big Boy"; this appears possible but not certain.
A second stanza also occurs in nursery tradition: "God bless the master of this house, The Mistress bless also..." (see Baring-Gould-MotherGoose #423, p. 196).
Ravenscroft also printed a "Bellman's Song"; it is not the same thing.
Bradley in The Penguin Book of Carols says "This is not, as might appear from its first line, a song about Charlie Chaplin." Don't ask me what that is supposed to mean; I have no clue. - RBW
File: DTbellma

Moonlicht Waters


DESCRIPTION: Laddies will come by with "pistols, guns and rappers [rapiers]"; there's a maid who has drunk "moonlicht waters." Chorus: She wears stays "that disna need nae lacin'"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1914 (GreigDuncan7)
KEYWORDS: clothes drink nonballad
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
GreigDuncan7 1421, "Moonlicht Waters" (1 fragment, 1 tune)
Roud #7265
NOTES: The current description is based on the GreigDuncan7 fragment. - BS
Last updated in version 2.5
File: GrD71421

Moonlight


See Meet Me Tonight in the Moonlight (File: R746)

Moonlight and Skies


DESCRIPTION: "Oh, come hear my story of heartaches and sighs, I'm a prisoner who's lonely for my moonlight and skies." The singer leaves his girl (daughter?) and sets out on a robbery. His partner is killed and he is taken. He wishes he were free and with the girl
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1930 (recording, Jimmie Rodgers)
KEYWORDS: love separation robbery death prison
FOUND IN: US Canada(West)
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Ohrlin-HBT 21, "Moonlight and Skies" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #13922
RECORDINGS:
Gene Autry, "Moonlight and Skies" (Conqueror 8002, 1932)
Hank & Slim "Moonlight and Skies" (Vocalion 02852, 1934)
Jimmie Rodgers, "Moonlight and Skies" (Victor 23574, 1931/Regal Zonophone [Australia] MR 2200, 1931; rec. 1930)
Stanley G. Triggs, "Moonlight and Skies" (on Triggs1)
SAME TUNE:
Jimmie Davis, "Moonlight and Skies - No. 2" (Decca 5104, 1935)
NOTES: This was item #170 in the first edition of Randolph, but was deleted in the second edition. It is item dE36 in Laws's Appendix II. - RBW
Triggs found a logger's version of this song while working in a lumber camp at Salmo, BC; evidently it had already entered oral tradition. - PJS
File: Ohr021

Moonlight Attack on Curtin's House


DESCRIPTION: "Moonlighting heroes of late made a raid Down in Castlefarm in John Curtin's place" and shot Curtin and his son. "May those boys that's in jail be home before long." "Not forgetting Thady Sullivan," an assailant shot and killed in the raid.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1885 (Zimmermann)
KEYWORDS: murder prison Ireland political
HISTORICAL REFERENCES:
Nov 13, 1885 - John O'Connell Curtin killed by "Moonlighters" at his farm in Molahiffe, County Kerry (source: Zimmermann)
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Zimmermann 88, "Moonlight Attack on Curtin's House" (1 text, 1 tune)
NOTES: The ballad recalls "His grandfather ... brought to the gallows in the year '98 Four dozen of croppies ... For which he was highly rewarded." Zimmermann notes "The Land War [roughly 1879-1885] took a particularly violent form in County Kerry where a secret agrarian organization revived the methods of the Whiteboys and Ribbonmen. John O'Connell Curtin was killed by some of these "Moonlighters."... Curtin was described by The Nation as a staunch nationalist.... The verses were sung at fairs and other gatherings, and much applauded." - BS
File: Zimm088
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