Setting up a Chronological Sequence
Existing analytical studies of folk songs suggest three useful approaches for stylistic study.
The Black Velvet Band III – Traditional Versions: Analysis of The Chorus
Study of the overall story should provide a long-term overview of how a song develops because, despite changes in details, the story elements are usually very stable over time. A relatively simple method would be to precis the story of each version independently and then compare the elements of each.
Study of key words and phrases is almost the opposite of studying the story. This provides details as to how the most ephemeral parts of a song change with time.
Study of a distinctive sample gives a compromise between the two approaches above, providing both continuity and the potential for fairly rapid change. In the case of the Black Velvet Band, the most obvious sample to study is the chorus (verse 2b), which is both distinctive and common to all versions.
The basis of the chorus is verse 2b of the broadside version (A), as follows.
Her eyes were as black as a raven,
I thought her the pride of the land,
Her hair, that did hang o'er her shoulders,
Was tied with a black velvet band.
Even before this has developed into the chorus, the most distinctive change, in the first line, has already been made (B), resulting in the following, which is only essentially identical in line 2.
O her eyes they shone like diamonds
And I thought her pride of the land,
And her hair it hung down o'er her shoulders,
And tied in a black velvet band.
Choruses from the following versions have been successively compared with the two above, and with each other (the fragment F does not include these lines).
C - Seeger & MacColl, "The Singing Island" (1960) page 82 (No. 75)
D - Meredith & Anderson, "Folksongs of Australia 1" (1967) pp.145-146
E - Meredith & Anderson, "Folksongs of Australia 1" (1967) 1 pp.49-50
F - Meredith & Anderson, "Folksongs of Australia 1" (1967) pp.192-193
G - Cyril Poacher (Broomfield Wager, Topic 12TS252)
H - Hughes "Irish Country Songs" Volume 4 (1936) pages 52-55
The result of these comparisons can be summarised as follows.
Version C follows B in lines 1 and 3 and A in line 4. In line 2, however, "pride"(A/B) has become "queen", in line 3 "hung down o'er"(B) has become "hung over" and "tied with" (A) has become "tied up with".
Version D follows B in line 1 and A in lines 3 and 4. In line 3, however, "her hair, that did hang o'er" (A) has become "the hair that hung down on".
Version E is fairly idiosyncratic. Line 1 adapts B, with "they shone like diamonds" becoming "were like two shining diamonds". Line 2 is clearly related to C, adapting "I thought her the queen of the land" to "they called her the queen of our land". Line 3 is most similar to D, though "hung over" (C) replaces "down on" (D). Finally, line 4 is the same as A.
Version G is very similar to B in lines 1 and 2, with only "shine" in line 1 for "shone" (B). Lines 3 and 4, however, are exactly as C.
Version H shows signs of rewriting, "velvet" being replaced by "ribbon" in line 4 (otherwise as C) and line 3 being completely rewritten as "with her hair thrown over her shoulders". Line 1 is, however, exactly as B and line 2 suggests C, "I thought her the queen" being replaced by "you would think she was queen".
This initial analysis allows us, from the available information, to draw up a sequence of styles. These can be defined, with dependencies, as follows.
Style 0 is congruent with the broadside version.
Style 1, developed from style 0, is characterised by the change from the eyes being described as "black as a raven" to shining "like diamonds". Versions B, D and G are examples of this style.
Style 2 is developed from style 1. It includes the eyes shining like diamonds, but the girl is thought of as "the queen of the land" instead of "the pride of the land". Versions C and E are examples of this style.
Style 3 is developed from style 2. This appears to involve a significant rewrite, and is characterised by "velvet" becoming "ribbon". Version H is an example of this style.