MISSOURI FOLK-LORE SOCIETY A PARTIAL LIST OF SONG-BALLADS AND OTHER POPULAR POETRY KNOWN IN MISSOURI Wiki SOME TINTS “FOR {HE COLERECTOR SECOND EDITION <* MISSOURI FOLK-LORE SOCIETY. ACPARLTIALC: LISTIOB SONG-BALLADS AND OTHER POPULAR POETRY KNOWN IN MISSOURI WITH SOME HINTS FOR THE COLLECTOR. SECOND EDITION The following partial list of the Missouri Song-Ballads of which copies are now in the hands of the Secretary is sent out in the expectation that it will explain one of the things the Society is trying to do and atthe same time, by stirring sleeping memories and arousing associations, lead to the growth of the collection. Collectors are urged to bear in mind the following SUGGESTIONS 5 The Society desires to collect all popular songs that have been learned by ear instead of by eye—whether tragic, comic, or sentimental, religious, historical, or didactic; see the list below. The fact, however, that a piece is known in print or is even of known authorship does not at all destroy its significance for this collection. Indeed the collection of printed songs, with or without the music, especially the cheaper sort of print like Old Put’s Songster and Trifet’s Monthly Budget of Music, is an important branch of the work. But a piece is of little interest unless it has also passed into oral tradition. The relation of print to oral tradition is one of the most inter- esting questions in balladry. Manuscript Collections of songs are especially desired. I have seen three such, made in War times and later, and believe there are many in the State, some of them perhaps of little interest to the present owner but of great value in the eyes of the student of popular poetry. The Society (not itself a depositary organization) is pledged by its constitution to deposit its collections of this sort in some public museum or library where they will be preserved and will be accessible to future students of the history and manners of Missouri. Nursery rimes, riddles, singing games, proverbs, and “signs” are also among the things that the Society desires to collect. Fragments are welcome when the thing cannot be got complete. ik The most important virtue of the collector is accuracy. The value of any contribution is largely destroyed if the piece is not given just as it is sung, or said, or written, with time and 3 fouthern Pamphlets Rare Book Collection Rare Book Collect 592210 .% place and person. Inexperienced collectors will do well to bear in mind the following interroga- tory :—— (a) Have you recorded it just as you found it—mistakes, meaningless words, and all? (b) Where, when, and from whom did you get it? (c) Did you take it down from singing, or from recitation, or copy it from MS., or write it out from memory? (d) Where, when, and under what circumstances did your informant learn it? (e) What do you know of the antecedents (nationality, place of birth, early surroundings; etc.) of your informant? (f) Does your informant know of the piece in print? Collectors are assured, and may if necessary assure those of whom this information is desired, that no improper or inconsiderate use will be made of it. But the value of any contribution, especially for historical and social study, will be grievously impaired if this information is not given. TLE: The most difficult thing for the ballad collector is to record the tunes. Many people who know ballads and ballad-singers cannot write music; and those whocan are sometimes puzzled to express the peculiarities of folk-music in the ordinary notation. The best method, no doubt, would be to take a phonographic record of songs, words and air together; but this will not often be practicable. Sometimes the collector can secure the services of a music-writing friend to re- cord the tune. Sometimes the tune used by the singer is that of some printed song-book, which © in that case can becited. In general, the tune should be recorded wherever it is possible to do so with accuracy. ‘The tune is the life of a ballad.” H. M. BELpDEN. AUGUST, 1907. The original issue of this list having been exhausted, it is now reissued, with additions. For convenience of reference the numbering of the original titles is retained and the new titles are appended with continuous numeration. Among these are included two more of the ballads found in Child’s collection, and a number of Civil War pieces, negro songs, and “play-party” ditties. I take this occasion to express the gratitude of the Society to the many faithful collectors whose labors have brought the collection into existence. HAM ce: Columbia, Mo., June, IgIo. SONG-BALLADS AND OTHER POPULAR POETRY KNOWN IN MISSOURI The pieces are arranged roughly in the following order: I, British ballads found in Child’s English and Scottish Popular Ballads; 11. Romantic and sentimental ballads (some of them of British origin); III. Religious pieces; IV. Comic and humorous ballads and songs; V. Pieces associated with American political or social history. No exact classification can be made in the present state of our knowledge, and accordingly no division is attempted. [A similar arrangement is followed in the new titles added in this second issue, beginning with No. 77.] Titles of ballads are shifting and unreliable. For that reason a brief description of the story is generally giv- en, sometimes with a line or two of the ballad by which to identify it. The Society desires copies cf all versions of all these pieces, as well as of all song-ballads not here listed, that are known to Missourians. 1. Pretty Golden Queen ‘Six kings’ daughters have I drowned here, And the seventh you shall be.” But when he turns his back she throws him in to drown. When she gets home the parrot wakes her father. 2. Old Man in The North Countree The older sister pushes the younger into the water to drown. ‘Down she sank and away she swam, Till she came to the miller’s mill-dam.”’ 3. Bangum and the Boar ‘‘They fought four hours in the day, And then this wild boar stole away. Old Bangum followed him to his den, And there found the bones of a thousand men.” 4. Thomas and Hllender (The Brown Girl) Thomas leaves Ellender and marries the Brown Girl, but Ellender comes to the wedding, insults the bride, and is murdered, as is also the bride. ‘‘Whether I shall marry fair Ellender, Or bring the brown girl home?” 5. William and Margaret William quarrels with Margaret and marries an- other; Margaret dies, and her ghost comes to him on his bridal night. “‘O how do you like your bed, said she, And how do you like your sheet? And how do you like that lady gay That lies by your side asleep?”’ 6. Lord Lovel ‘“Lady Nancy Bell came riding by To wish her lover good speed speed speed, To wish her lover good speed.’”’ 7. Barbara Allen 8. The Jew’s Garden “It rained all day, it rained all night, It rained all over the land.’’ A little boy is enticed into the garden by the Jew’s daughter, who takes him down cellar “‘where no one can hear him call’? and murders him. “She called for a tin ba-a-sin To catch his life-blood in.”’ 9. Life of Georgia Georgia (i. e. Georgie, George) has stolen sixteen of the king’s white steeds and sold them in Bohe- mia. His lady rides to save him froin being hung. “Saying, Lawyers, lawyers, fee yourselves, But spare me the life of Georgia.” 10. Black Jack Daley (Gypsy Davy) Entices a lady away from her husband and child by his singing. ‘“‘O would you leave your house and land, O would you leave your baby?”’ 11. The House Carpenter A woman leaves her husband and child and goes away on a ship with another man. “She had not been on board more than three weeks, I’m sure it was not four, Until the deck of the ship sprung a leak And her weeping was heard no more.’’ 12. Dandoo (William and Jenny) A husband chastises a shrewish wife by putting a sheepskin on her back and dressing, #. e. beating it. ‘Says he, Tell your father and all his kin I’s only a-dressin’ the old sheepskin,” 13. A Woman and the Devil The devil comes to get a woman whose hus- band gladly hands her over. But she makes so much trouble in hell that the devil has to bring her back. ‘The old man in the kitchen, peeping out the cracks: Yonder comes the old devil a-wagging her back!”’ 14. Young Jack the Farmer (Young Jack the Sailor) A wealthy merchant’s daughter loves young Jack the farmer (or sailor). The merchant in order to stop the match gets Jack drafted for the wars in Germany (or Santa Fe). She disguises herself as a man (sailor or soldier), follows, and arrives in time to rescue him as he lies wounded on the battlefield. (This story has many forms. Sometimes there is no battle, but the girl has try- ing experiences as a sailor.) “‘Your waist is slim and slender, Your fingers théy are small, Your cheeks are red and rosy To face a cannon ball.”’ 15. William and Polly A soldier is taking leave of his sweetheart. She asks to be allowed to go with him, dressed as a man, ‘where the blazing bullets fly,’’? and even promises to help him in his love affairs with other women. He is so impressed with this proof of her devotion that he marries her. ‘Suppose I were to meet with some fair maid, And she were pleased with me: If I should meet with some fair maid, What would my Polly say? What would I say, dear William? Why, I should love her too, And stand aside like a sailor While she might talk to you.” 16. Sons of Columbia (Fuller and Warren) Rival lovers. One, jilted, kills the other; is tried for murder in a court in Indiana State, and hung. 17. Pretty Oma A man kills his sweetheart (or his wife) with a fence stake and then throws her body into the river ‘just below the mill dam.” 18. Bedroom Window The lover, under the window, pleads with the maiden to ask her mother, then her father, for permission to marry him. She refuses; where- upon he says he will go away to some lonely val- ley where he will eat nothing but the willows, drink nothing but his tears. Then she relents .and promises to go along with him. ‘‘Awake, awake, you drowsy sleeper.’’ 19. Young Charlotte Frozen to death at her lover’s side going toa Christmas ball. “‘Charlotte said in these few words: I’m growing warmer now.”’ 20. Sailor Boy ‘‘O father, father, build me a boat, That over the ocean I may float; And every ship that I pass by, There I’ll enquire for my sweet sailor boy.” 21. Butcher Boy “In Jersey City where I did dwell, A butcher’s boy I loved so well’?— Forsaken maiden goes upstairs to make her bed and hangs herself there with a rope. 22. Silver Dagger Two lovers prevented from marrying by their parents. She wanders to the river-side and there with her silver dagger pierces through her lily- white breast; he comes up too late to save her, so follows her example, hoping to meet her on Mount Zion. 23. Young Brinnon on the Moor An outlaw, turns highwayman, robs the mayor, is captured, cast into prison, and condemned to death. “Bold, gay and dauntless stood young Brin- non on the moor.’’ 24. McAfee’s Confession (The Murdered Wife) Little orphan McAfee, brought up by an uncle, falls into evil ways; marries, but soon after falls in love with another woman, and first poisons and then strangles his wife. 25. Fannie Moore Fannie has two lovers. She marries the poor one, Edward, whereupon the other, Randal, sur- prises and stabs her. He is caught and “hung in chains on a tree beside the door For taking the life of the fair Fannie Moore.” 26. Down by the Weeping Willow A man entices his sweetheart to the river-side and murders her. She dies forgiving him. 2'7. The Broken Hngagement She writes a letter breaking their engagement; then repents, but it is too late. ‘Forgive me, oh, forgive me! I’ll repent of what I’ve done! I’ll forgive you, oh no, never; I’ll go choose another one.” 28. The Faithful Lover He writes her a letter from his sick-bed; she comes to him and they make up and promise to marry; then ‘*As she threw her arms around him She felt his heart break.’’ 29. The Village Bride Mary comes wandering home with her babe to her father’s door. He will not let her in and she dies there, ‘‘While the wind blows across the wild moor.”’ 30. ’Prentice Song “Seven long years I’ve served my trade, One more and I'l be free.” 31. Johnny German (Mary and Willie, &c.) A sailor (or soldier) tells a girl that her lover is lost at sea (or killed in battle), to test her faith- fulness; then when he sees her true grief reveals that he is the lover himself. This story takes many forms. 32. Silvery Tide A girl murdered in her lover’s absence and thrown in the silvery tide; the body is recovered by the lover on his return. 33. The Babes in the Woods 34. Ranordine. “One evening as I wandered Two miles below Pomroy,.... Iam no rake, but Caesar, Brought up in Venus’ town.”’ . 35. Gypsy’s Warning “Trust him not, O gentle lady!’’ There is an ‘‘Answer’’ to this; also a third part, called ‘‘The Decision.”’ 36. Isle of St. Helena Lament for Napoleon in his exile. 37. The Fatal Wedding “I must object, the woman said With voice so meek and mild, The bridegroom is my husband, sir, And this our little child.’’ 88. Little Family Story of the raising of Lazarus, 89. The Romish Lady The lady was converted to Protestantism, kept a Bible, and would not bow to idols; wherefore, at her wicked mother’s instigation, she was brought before the priests, and burnt. 40. The Railroad to Heaven The process of salvation described under the figure of a railway journey. 41. The Model Church 42. Death is a Melancholy Call “‘T saw a youth the other day, He looked so young, he was so gay, He trifled all his time away And dropt into eternity. ’Tis awful—awful—awful.”’ 43. The Wicked Girl A girl who ‘‘would go to frolics, dance and play, in spite of all her friends could say,’ and disregarded the warnings of the spirit, lies dying. ‘““My friends, I bid you all farewell, I die, I die, I sink to hell; There must I lie and scream and roll, For God will not receive my soul.” 44. The Twelve Days of Christmas “The first day of Christmas my love she sent to me A partridge on a pear tree.’’ A gift is added for each day up to Night. Twelfth 45. Dog and Gun “ll be the mistress of your dairy and the milking of your cows, While my jolly brisk young farmer goes whistling to his plows.’’ 46. Kate and Her Horns Kate’s lover left her for another; she went to the tannery, got a cow-hide with the horns on, met him in the dark in this disguise and frightened him into marrying her. whereupon 47. Johnny Sands Johnny, after a quarrel with his wife, wishes he were dead. She agrees. They go to the river, where he asks her to tie his hands and push him in. When she rushes at him to push him in he steps aside and in she goes. She begs him to help her out but he answers, “I can’t, you’ve tied my hands,”’ 48. I Wish I Were Single Again 49. Seven Long Years Did Sim Court The Widow 50. Darby and Joan A man comes in from plowing and finds fault with his wife’s housekeeping. So they agree to change places for a day; at the end of which ‘‘He swore by the light of the moon, and all the stars in heaven, His wife could do more work in a day than he could do in seven,’’ 51. James Bird A hero of the war of 1812, who was shot for desertion. 52. Momee (Maumee) A white man has an Indian sweetheart. He leaves her and returns to civilization, but finds there ‘‘none that compare with the pretty Momee.’? 53. Tahiah The Indian warrior Tahiah comes to the white man’s cabin and demands the settler’s child Ida. The mother, alone, fears to refuse, and the Indian takes the child away. The mother spends the day weeping and praying. At evening shesees Tahiah returning with the child, who calls him Uncle Tahiah and proudly displays the new moccasins he has made for her. After that, red man and white man are friends, and Ida teaches Tahiah *‘to read his Bible and pray to the God that’s AUC, 54. The Wagoner of the Yadkin A song of frontier life in North Carolina. 05. Packingham A camp song in ridicule of General Packing- ham, defeated by Jackson at New Orleans in 1814. “Come, Packingham, and take a cup, Perhaps the last you will ever sup; We will send you back all pickled up Like pork from Tennessee.’’ o6, Andrew Jackson’s Raid 57. The Maid of Prairie Du Chien 58. My Gum-Tree Canoe 59. Davy Crockett “Don’t you want to hear about Davy Crock- ett. Half horse, half man, and half sky-rocket?”’ 60. Texas Rangers “Our captain he informed us, perhaps he thought it right: Before we reach the station, brave boys, we’ll have to fight.’ 61. Sam Bass ‘Sam Bass was born in Indiana.’? He went to Texas to be a ranger; robbed a train (or a bank) and was hanged. 62. Plains of Mexico “To display our country’s standard On the plains of Mexico.”’ 63. Joe Bowers 64. Betsy From Pike 65. 66.. west and his wife, who dissuades him. “‘Since the times are so hard.” 67. Lone Prairie (Dying Cowboy) “‘O bury me not on the lone prairie!’’ 68. Dying Cowboy “For I’m a young cowboy, and I know I’ve done wrong.”’ 69, Fremont ‘Old Benton had a daughter, Fair Jessie was her name.”’ 70. The Bonny Blue Flag Southern war song 71. Old Honest Abe Civil War song, Southern. “Oh Mr. Link, what do you think About the Southern cattle, That horns you so wherever you go And whips you every battle?’’ 72. Daniel Martin Civil War camp ballad, Union. 73. Southern Girls’ Song 74. Joe Slinsworth Southern camp ballad, dealing with the fight in Missouri. 75. Jesse James 768. Oharles Guiteau 77. The Lone Widow (The Three Babes) A woman’s three sons, sent toa “‘far countrye to learn their grammare,’’ die. At Christmas they come back to her, but cannot eat the bread or drink the wine she sets before them. 78. The Yellow Golden Tree The little cabin boy sinks Te Golden Yellow Tree by boring a hole in her side. His captain however refuses the thousand pounds and the hand of his daughter, which he had promised as the reward of the feat; instead, he sews the cabin boy upina rawhide and drowns him, 79. Lowlands Low Young Edward, the driver boy, visits his sweet- heart Emily at her father’s tavern. The father murders him at night for his gold and sends his body floating ‘‘down in the lowlands low.’’ Emily learns of the crime in a dream and tells her father that he will ‘‘die a public show.’’ 80. Allan Bane A young man is about to be hanged for the murder of Allan Bane, of which he is innocent. He bids farewell to mother, sister, etc., and is on the point of being hanged when Allan Bane ap- ies pears. 81. William Reilly (Colleen Bawn) The story of William Reilly, who married his master’s daughter, was imprisoned on a charge of theft, escaped, and got off with his Colleen Bawn. 82. Mary Crawford Mary elopes with AllenGreen. Her father pur- sues, and kills her with a shot intended for Allen. 83. The Croppy Boy The Croppy Boy is betrayed to the government by his sister, brought before Lord Cornwall, and condemned to transportation. ‘(When I was marching o’er Wexford Hill, Oh, who could blame me to cry my fill?” 84. The Soldier’s Wooing The lady consents to run away with the bold dragoon. Her father overtakes them. In the fight that ensues the soldier, urged on by the lady, compels the father to consent to the match and make the soldier his heir. “Fight on, you valiant soldier, your portion is too small; Fight on, you valiant soldier, and you will get it all.” 85. Black Hyed Susan Gay’s well known ballad. 86. Mary’s Dream Her lover, Sandy, is drowned at sea. ghost returns, “Saying, Mary, weep no more for me.’’ His 87. The Bold Lover Gay “Leave your father and mother and come along with me, And I will carry you to my home across the Reap VANS S No hard work for you there, I say, But silk and satin dresses, May;.............. And where are your silks and satins, May, And what is that under your cloak, I pray? All on account of a Bold Lover Gay.” 88. The Forsaken Girl A great number and variety of songs upon this general theme. Sometimes the girl drowns her- self; sometimes she wishes she were a little fish or a little sparrow or adove; sometimes she asks nothing of the false one but a coffin, shroud, and grave; sometimes she is defiant, declaring ‘“‘I can get another.’”’ 89. Mother and Daughter Dialog between a girl who wants married and her mother, who reproves her. to get 90, Young Johnny Young Johnny, returning from a cruise, pre- tends to be poor, and is told by his sweetheart’s father that Polly must not be his, Then he calls for the reckoning and shows pockets full of gold, whereupon he is urged to stay and marry her, but angrily casts her off. “‘My green beds are empty, and you shall lie there.’ 91. The False True Lover A lovers’ parting, in dialog. ‘“‘Oh, who will shoe my pretty little feet, And who will glove my hand?’”’.... “Ten thousand true lovers has parted in this world, And why not you and [?”’ 92. The Soldier’s Boy “I’m a soldier’s poor little boy.” 93. The Farmer’s Boy “‘For to plow and to sow, And to reap and to mow, And to be a farmer’s boy.”’ 94. Over The Hills at the Poorhouse An old woman, deserted by her children, dies at the poorhouse. prosperous 95. Kimonaro “There was an old man’’ who fired at a crow and shot his hog. “Old woman, old woman, some brandy ina spoon, Or our fat hog will die very soon.”’ 96. The Nightingale “7’d rather hear one tune on the fiddle or one sound on the string Than to hear the birds warble or the night- ingale sing.’’ 9'7. Moses and Pharaoh’s Daughter Moses is hidden by the river side in an ark of bulrushes, “For the ruffians would come, If he tarried at home, And murder that infant so dear.’’ Here, “fas the ladies were winding their way,”’ he is found by Pharaoh’s daughter. 98. Rosin the Bow 99. Little Brown Jug 100. The Miller and His Sons ‘“‘Father, father, my name’s Jack, 1’ll steal all the corn and I’ll swear to the sack.”’ 101. Billy Barlow 102. Belle of Roanoke “Twelve come east, twelve come west, Twelve come tearing down the water. A dozen for the other side, Four and forty booing at her.... All the lads were wooing at her.”’ 108. Courting the Widow’s Daughter A warning against courting the widow’s daugh- ter instead of the widow herself. 104. The Gray Mare Young Roger the miller courted beautiful Kate, but would not marry her unless the gray mare was thrown in. He got neither. 105. The Old Bachelor “‘T heard an old bachelor making mighty noise.... Since there’s none that'll marry me.”’ 106. The Young Man Who Wouldn’t Hoe His Corn 107. I Won’t be a Nun 108. Song of the Times A satire on the various professions and callings. “These queer times, these queer times.’’ Io 109. The County Jail A satirical description of jail life, from the inside. 110. The Arkansaw Traveler A satire upon life in Arkansas. 111. The Texan Boys A satire upon agricultural life in Texas. 112. Kansas A Missourian’s jeer at Kansas. “‘Oh, potatoes they grow smal] in Kansas.”’ 113. The Sword of Bunker Hill “But quickly from yon antlers bring The sword of Bunker Hili!’’ 114. War Song of the Revolution A moralizing piece telling of the woes of the people, crops blasted and cannon roaring, and interpreting it all as a judgment from heaven for their sins. “Come, ye Americans, and tremble Here before your mighty God.”’ 115. Buch and Breck A campaign song of the election of 1857. “Buch and Breck, neck to neck, A yoke of oxen true.’’ 116. Root Abe or Die Southern camp-ballad of the Civil War in Missouri. ‘“’’'Twas there Lyon bit the dust, And Seigle ran away, Just as he did at Carthage Upon a former day.”’ 117. When this Cruel War is Over (Weeping Sad and Lonely) 118. The Husband’s Departure ; A dialog between a volunteer and his wife— Northern. 119. Fare You Well My Darling Parting between a volunteer and his sweetheart. ‘‘When the cannon roar like thunder, And the bullets are flying round, I hope they all will miss you, ‘ And leave you safe and sound.’’ ‘ 120. The Yankee Man of War 121. The Flag with the 34 Stars Answer to The Bonny Blue Flag. (No. 70). e Southern Wagon A satire on the Confederacy, to the tune of Wait for the Wagon. 123. The Drummer Boy of Shiloh 124. Victorious March A camp-ballad celebrating Grant’s Vicksburg campaign. 125. Late Battle in the West Another on the same subject. 126. The Goose Hangs High Northern camp-ballad on the campaign. Gettysburg 1277. Sterling Price ‘Sterling Price, he wheeled his men about And cut the Dutch into sauerkraut.’’ 128. Lord Lovell A parody of Lord Lovell, satirizing a Confed- erate officer. 129. The Little Octaroon The little octaroon escapes from her hunters to the Union Camp. “Glory, glory, how the freemen sang! Glory, glory, how the old words rang!”’ 130. The Guerrilla Boy “T’ll bundle up my clothing With my true love by my side, And I'll roam this wide world over To be the guerrilla’s bride.” 131. Dreary Black Hills ‘‘T gave up my trade selling Ayers’ Patent Pills To go and hunt goldin those dreary Black Hills.”’ 132. Lorena A favorite cowboy song. 133, The Mower (Springfield Mountain) A young man mowing in a meadow is bitten by a serpent, and dies, 134. Jim Fisk An attack upon the courts and a plea for Jim Fisk, “‘the friend of the poor,’’ now on trial for his life. 135. Iron Mountain Baby A woman throws her child out of a car window in a satchel. It is found and cared for by Jim Held. 136, Johnny Booker ‘‘As I went down to Lynchburg town, I broke my yoke at the coaling ground. ....’’ 13'7. Gwine Down the River on the Gospel Raft A roustabout’s song. ‘‘Hide away, hide away, No use tryin’ to hide away; Get yo’ baggage on de deck And don’ forget to get a check, For yo’ can’t steal the boat and hide away.”’ 188. Wake, Nicodemus (There’s a Good Time Coming) 1389. Kingdom Coming “De Mass’r run, ha ha! De darkey stay, ho ho! It must be now de kingdom comin’, And de year of jubilo.”’ 140. Long Time Ago ‘CAs I was a-goin’ down Shinbone Alley.”’ 141. Paper of Pins ‘“‘Oh, I'll give you a paper of pins, If that’s the way that love begins.” 142. Perri Merri Dictum, Domine ‘One sent me cherries without any stones, One sent me chickens without any bones.”? 143. King William was King James’s Son 144. We’ll All go Down to Rowser’s 145. The Miller ‘‘Can’t get a red-bird black-bird ’]l do, Tip tip a loo, my darling.’’