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"Barbara Allen" is a traditional folk song that is popular throughout the English-speaking world and beyond. It tells of how the eponymous character denies a dying man's love, then dies of grief soon after his untimely death.
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"Lily of the West" is a traditional British and Irish folk song, best known today as an American folk song, listed as number 957 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The American version is about a man who travels to Louisville and falls in love with a woman named Mary, Flora or Molly, the eponymous Lily of the West. He catches Mary being unfaithful to him, and, in a fit of rage, stabs the man she is with, and is subsequently imprisoned. In spite of this, he finds himself still in love with her. In the original version, the Lily testifies in his defense and he is freed, though they do not resume their relationship.
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"The Twa Brothers" is a traditional ballad existing in many variants.
"The Trees They Grow So High" is a Scottish folk song. The song is known by many titles, including "The Trees They Do Grow High", "Daily Growing", "Long A-Growing" and "Lady Mary Ann".
The song "All Around my Hat" is of nineteenth-century English origin. In an early version, dating from the 1820s, a Cockney costermonger vowed to be true to his fiancée, who had been sentenced to seven years' transportation to Australia for theft and to mourn his loss of her by wearing green willow sprigs in his hatband for "a twelve-month and a day", the willow being a traditional symbol of mourning. The song was made famous by Steeleye Span, whose rendition may have been based on a more traditional version sung by John Langstaff, in 1975.
"The Sprig of Thyme", "The Seeds of Love", "Maiden’s Lament", "Garners Gay", "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" or "Rue" is a traditional British and Irish folk ballad that uses botanical and other symbolism to warn young people of the dangers in taking false lovers. The song was first documented in 1689 and the many variants go by a large number of titles.
References
- ↑ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Famous Flower of Serving Men"
- ↑ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 2, p 429, Dover Publications, New York 1965
- ↑ Palmer, Roy (1998). A Book of British Ballads. Llanerch Publishers. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-86143-061-8.
- ↑ "I'll Cut Off My Long Yellow Hair (Roud Folksong Index S332530)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- ↑ "The Servantman (Roud Folksong Index S220965)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- ↑ "My Brother Built Me a Bancy Bower (Roud Folksong Index S245547)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 2020-08-29.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Famous Flower of Serving Men / The Lament of the Border Widow (Roud 199; Child 106; G/D 1:163)". mainlynorfolk.info. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
- ↑ "On Air : 1970s" at carthyonline.wordpress.com
- ↑ "BBC – Radio 2 – Folk and Acoustic – Folk Awards 2005 – Report".
- ↑ The Border Widow's Lament, Hob. XXXIa:232 on YouTube
- ↑ "Bluegrass Messengers – Recordings & Info 106. Famous Flower Serving-Men". bluegrassmessengers.com. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
