The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #15673   Message #1112260
Posted By: Joe Offer
09-Feb-04 - 01:15 AM
Thread Name: Origin: Queen of Hearts (Tim O'Brien)
Subject: RE: Queen of Hearts? Any info on this song?
Hmmm. I wonder what else we can dig up. There's an entry in the Traditional Ballad Index, but it refers only to the Digital Tradition and to the Folksinger's Wordbook.
-Joe Offer-

Queen of Hearts

DESCRIPTION: "To the Queen of Hearts goes the Ace of sorrow... Young men are plenty but sweethearts few; If my love leaves me, what shall I do?" The singer talks of her wealth and family, "But I'll leave them all to go with you."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1973
KEYWORDS: love courting family travel
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Silber-FSWB, p. 153, "Queen of Hearts" (1 text)
DT, QUNHEART*

Roud #3195
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "I Know My Love"
File: FSWB153

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2003 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.


The lyrics in the Digital Tradition are exactly what's found in The Joan Baez Songbook. Here are the background notes from that songbook:The Folksinger's Wordbook has essentially the same lyrics Mrrzy posted, give or take a tense or two.