Origins: All the Pretty Little Horses

Subject: RE: Help: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From: Lox
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 10:36 PM

Cormac McArthy wrote a book called "All the pretty horses" which I recommend in the highest possible terms.

If you haven't read it, read it! It's a beauty.

(Thread creep over)

lox

Subject: RE: Help: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From: Susan-Marie
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 09:29 PM

Yikes - my daughter loves horses so I used to sing this to her all the time, but now I don't think I can. I can't bear thinking about how painful it would be to listen to your baby cry and not be able to feed her. Oh well, that makes two folk songs ruined by understanding (the first one was Oh Shenandoah, what an eye-opening thread that was!)

Subject: RE: Help: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 04:08 PM

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index. It's not particularly helpful this time, but it does give a number of songbook references. -Joe Offer-

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All the Pretty Little Horses

DESCRIPTION: "Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, Go to sleep you little baby. When you wake, you shall have All the pretty little horses." The horses are described. Another verse describes a baby (lamb) left in a meadow at the mercy of the birds
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1918 (Cecil Sharp collection)
KEYWORDS: lullaby animal horse
FOUND IN: US(Ap,SE,So)
REFERENCES (19 citations):
Randolph 269, "Black Sheep Lullaby" (2 short texts, both rather far removed from the usual form; 1 tune)
BrownIII 115, "Hush-a-Bye, Don't You Cry" (3 text plus mention of 1 more); also
"Poor Little Lamb Cries Mammy" (3 short texts, perhaps related to the Randolph version)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp.145-148, "Lullaby," (no title), "Go to Sleepy, Little Baby," "Got to Sleep, Little Baby," (no title), (no title), "Ole Cow," (no title) (8 texts, most short, 2 tunes); also probably pp. 148-149, "Baa-Baa Black Sheep" (1 short text, one tune, which is much like this piece except for the first line)
Joyner, p. 100, "All the Pretty Little Horses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Owens-1ed, p. 267, "Go to Sleepy"; Owens-1ed, p. 268, "Go to Sleep" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Owens-2ed, p. 179, "Go to Sleep Little Baby"; p. 181, "Go to Sleepy" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Sandburg, pp. 454-455, "Go To Sleepy" (1 text, 1 tune, in which the child is promised rewards upon waking -- but seemingly also threatened with the "booger man" if it won't sleep)
SharpAp 233, "Mammy Loves" (1 text, 1 tune)
Trent-Johns, pp. 20-21, "Go To Sleepy, Little Baby" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scott-BoA, pp. 204-205, "Hushabye (All the Pretty Little Horses)" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSUSA 2, "All the Pretty Little Horses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 304-305, "All the Pretty Little Horses" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FSNA 265, "Black Sheep" (1 text, 1 tune)
Ritchie-SingFam, pp. 217-218, "[Horsey Song]" (1 text, 1 tune, partly repeated on page 223)
Botkin-SoFolklr, p. 704, "You Shall Have a Horse to Ride" (1 text, 1 tune)
Pankake-PHCFSB, p. 224, "All the Pretty Little Horses" (1 text); also probably p. 235, "Go to Sleepy, Little Baby" (very short fragment)
Silber-FSWB, p. 407, "All The Pretty Little Horses" (1 text)
DT, ALLHORSE
Roud #6705
RECORDINGS:
Texas Gladden, "Whole Heap a Little Horses" (on LomaxCD1702)
Pete Seeger, "All the Pretty Little Horses" (on GrowOn2)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Lost Babe" (theme of young one at the mercy of birds)
File: LxU002

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Subject: RE: Help: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From: Mark Clark
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 02:04 PM

Ian has it right. It's the African wet nurse giving her milk to massa's baby while her own baby, lies unfed and unattended. All the pretty little horses refers to the wonderful things available to the owner's family that are not available to the African slaves.

I think this is essentially the same theme---and almost the same song---as Gershwin's "Summertime." Of course Gershwin's composition is softened for popular consumption.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Help: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From: Ian HP
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:49 PM

I too am intrigued by this song and lacked an explanation until I heard it on the Snakefarm album, 'Songs From My Funeral'. The Snakefarm website says that this was a lullaby sung to the master's child by a slave listening to the cries of her own baby left alone. That's as much as they say. My guess is that cake and horses were things that slaves could only dream of having, as in slave songs about having shoes, freedom, etc. in heaven, when the Lord will provide, etc.. Hope this helps.

Subject: All the Pretty Little Horses-2
From:
Date: 31 Jan 01 - 01:44 PM

I am looking for an explanation about the words to the folk song "All the Pretty Little Horses." What are the historical/social reasons a lullaby would talk about the baby getting cake and all the pretty little horses??? I am doing an arrangement of this song with one of my high school choirs and need to explain this to them.