The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #103975   Message #2124423
Posted By: The Borchester Echo
12-Aug-07 - 07:26 PM
Thread Name: Arabic & African names in English songs & stories
Subject: RE: Arabic & African names in English songs & stories
The actual title of Child Ballad #239 Annachie Gordon is Lord Saltoun & Auchanachie. It's not really about a Sultan.

The case of #53 Young Beichan/Lord Bateman is a tad more interesting. Andrew Cronshaw produced a version which he called Sofia The Saracen's Daughter when he let Natacha Atlas and Abdullah Chhadeh work on an Arabic text when they were unaware that the story also existed in the English tradition.

The there's the schottische Nigel Chippindale wrote called Rikki Tikki Tavi (but then Donovan wrote a song with the same name so how much either or both had to do with The Jungle (sorry rainforest) Book is not known.

How about Persian Ricardo, The Black Joak, Brown Adam and The Brown Girl? Or then again, perhaps not.

Ah, I know. Child #287, Captain Ward And The Rainbow. That covers everybody in South Africa anyway.