Origins: Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)

Subject: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: Lorraine
Date: 10 Dec 97 - 09:06 PM

I'm looking for the lyrics to "Farewell She"--Checked mudcat and found a mix of "All Around My Hat" and "Farewell He" and the mention that it was a mix of the two traditional songs- but no "Farewell He". It begins "Fare thee well cold winter and fare thee well cold frost- Nothing have I gained but my own true love I've lost." I know Archie Fisher does a version of it-"Farewell She" but can't find the album. Please help.--Thanks Lorraine

Subject: ADD: Farewell She
From: Wolfgang Hell
Date: 11 Dec 97 - 08:44 AM

Perhaps, but I'm not sure, this is what you are looking for, Lorraine: I found two quite similar songs Farewell He and Farewell She .
Wolfgang

---

Gloranthan songs: Farewell she

Take half a pound of reason and a quarter pound of sense,
A small sprig of thyme and so much of prudence;
Put then all together, love, and you will plainly see,
She's a false deluding lover, let her go, farewell she.

Now fare thee well cold winter and fare thee well cold frost,
Nothing have I gained but my own true love I've lost.
I'll sing and I'll be merry if occasion I do see,
I'll rest when I am weary, let her go, farewell she.

Last night I met my true love in yonder shady grove,
She met me with a smile, she gave to me a blush.
She thought I should have spoke to her as I did pass her by,
But before I humble to my love I'll lay me down and die.

Take half a pound of reason and a quarter pound of sense,
A small sprig of thyme and so much of prudence;
Put then all together, love, and you will plainly see,
She's a false deluding lover, let her go, farewell she.

---

Source: Jane's Glorantha page
Last Updated: 20 September 1996 Taken directly from the traditional folk song: no changes needed. No particular Gloranthan links, just a lovely tune. On the other hand... it couldn't be about marriage to Inora, could it? And what strange powers do those herbs have?

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: Lorraine
Date: 11 Dec 97 - 05:28 PM

Yes yes yes Thanks Wolfgang you're great! Lorraine

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: Bruce O.
Date: 11 Dec 97 - 06:31 PM

Farewell He!, commencing "Fare thee well cold winter, and fare thee well cold frost" is, with music, in Frank Purlsow's 'The Constant Lovers', 1972. This has five verses. A song "Let him Gang", of 3 verses in David Herd's 'Scots Songs', II, p. 180, 1776 is related. James Reeves, 'The Everlasting Circle', 1960, gave two short traditional texts, "Farewell He", #40, without music.

Other versions in Kidson's 'English Peasant Songs', 1929; Baring Gould's 'Garland'; 'Dorset Book of Folk Songs'.

A good text without tune is in Gardiner and Chickering's 'Ballads and Songs of Southern Michigan', p. 130, 1939 (reprinted 1967). See the Traditional Ballad Index on the internet for further American versions.

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 13 Dec 97 - 05:29 PM

It's also in the database. As Farewell He.

Subject: Lyr Add: FARE THEE WELL, COLD WINTER (Watersons)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Jan 05 - 04:29 PM

FARE THEE WELL, COLD WINTER
[Watersons (Farewell He)]

Fare thee well, cold winter
And fare thee well, cold frost;
Nothing have I gained by thee
But a false young girl at last.
But if she's got another one
And they both can't agree,
She's welcome to stay with him
And think no more of me.

She wrote me a letter
To say that she was sad;
I quickly wrote the answer back
To say that I were glad.
She may keep her paper
And I will keep my time,
For what I'd have a true young girl
I'd search the world around.

One day that I was walking
All through the shady grove,
'Twas there I met me own true love,
She handed me a rose.
Thinking I should keep it
To never pass her by,
For what I'd have a true young girl
I'd lay me down and die.

False deceitful young girls
Are easy to be found,
For what I'd have a true young girl
I'd search this world around.
And if she's got another one
And they can't both agree,
She's welcome to stay with him
And think no more of me.

I'll be all smiles tonight, boys,
I'll be all smiles tonight.
If me heart should break tomorrow
I'll be all smiles tonight.

Comparison is made with old songs in the post by Bruce O, above.
The convergence with "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight" thread 5951, is obvious: All Smiles

Fare Thee Well, Cold Winter, Watersons: Farewell He/She / Fare Thee Well, Cold Winter / All Smiles Tonight

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: nutty
Date: 31 Jan 05 - 07:29 PM

This copy of the song is from a Bodleian Broadside dated around 1820.

I think it makes more sense than all the versions posted so far

Farewell He

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 31 Jan 05 - 08:00 PM

I agree. The Watersons version is especially bad. The last verse is the only useful part, because it makes a connection with the juvenile "All Smiles..."

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She?
From: Pat Cooksey
Date: 31 Jan 05 - 08:24 PM

Finbar and Eddie Furey did the best version of this I heard, John Peel, RIP, plugged these guys on every programm, Her Father didn't
like me Anyway. with Finbar on pipes and Eddie singing, was disregarded in Nottingham Folk club. I was there with them on this
night. These guys went on to be one of the most famous bands in Ireland.

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 03:29 AM

There's a fairly extensive entry at the Traditional Ballad Index:

Farewell He

DESCRIPTION: The singer bids "Fare thee well, cold winter, and fare thee well cold frost. Nothing have I gained, but a lover I have lost...." After seeing him with another girl, she swears off of him, "He's no lad for windy weather; let him go then; farewell he"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety)
KEYWORDS: courting farewell abandonment
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond,South)) US(Ap,MA,So) Ireland
REFERENCES (16 citations):
Reeves-TheEverlastingCircle 40, "Farewell He" (2 texts)
Purslow-TheConstantLovers, p. 32, "Farewell He" (1 composite text, 1 tune)
Palmer-EnglishCountrySongbook, #80, "Fare Thee Well, Cold Winter" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brocklebank/Kindersley-DorsetBookOfFolkSongs, p. 16, "Farewell He" (1 text, 1 tune)
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, pp. 491-492, "Adieu to Cold Weather" (1 text plus mention of 2 more)
Cazden/Haufrecht/Studer-FolkSongsOfTheCatskills 41, "My Love Is Like a Dewdrop" (1 text, 1 tune)
Randolph 751, "Adieu to Dark Weather" (6 texts plus an excerpt, 5 tunes, all more or less related to this piece, though some are rather mixed; some of the texts reverse the male and female roles and some have a chorus)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 491-493, "Adieu to Dark Weather" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 751A)
Gardner/Chickering-BalladsAndSongsOfSouthernMichigan 42, "Farewell He" (1 text); 43, "My Love Is on the Ocean" (1 text)
Combs/Wilgus-FolkSongsOfTheSouthernUnitedStates 179, pp. 146-147, "To Cheer the Heart" (1 text)
Hubbard-BalladsAndSongsFromUtah, #58, "They Say He Courts Another" (1 short text, too brief to really classify, but some of the words go here)
Carey-MarylandFolkLegendsAndFolkSongs, p. 98, "My Love Is on the Ocean" (1 text)
Henry/Huntingdon/Herrmann-SamHenrysSongsOfThePeople H504, p. 347, "Farewell He" (1 text, 1 tune); compare also H241, p. 346, "The Blackbird and Thrush" (1 text, 1 tune)
Graham-Joe-Holmes-SongsMusicTraditionsOfAnUlsterman 53, "My Love Is on the Ocean" (1 text, 1 tune)
Fowke-TraditionalSingersAndSongsFromOntario 44, "I Once Loved a Lass" (1 text, 1 tune, from LaRena (Mrs. Gordon) Clark, which begins with verses probably from "The False Bride (The Week Before Easter; I Once Loved a Lass," continues with stanzas from "Green Grows the Laurel (Green Grow the Lilacs)," then has a "My love is like a dewdrop" stanza often found in "Farewell He," and includes several other lyrics that might have floated in)
DT, FAREWELH* (RONDHAT5* -- a mixed version also incorporating "All Around My Hat")
Roud #803 plus 3729, 1034
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Dark and Dreary Weather" (stanza form, floating lyrics)
cf. "I've Two or Three Strings To My Bow" (subject)
cf. "Love Me or No" (subject)
cf. "The Blackbird and Thrush" (floating lyrics)
cf. "Wounded Spirit" (subject)
cf. "Parting Words" (subject)
cf. "There Comes a Fellow with a Derby Hat" (subject)
cf. "Oh, Where Is My Sweetheart?" (subject)
cf. "Like an Owl in the Desert" (subject)
cf. "I'll Cheer Up My Heart" (subject)
cf. "The Days Are Awa That I Hae Seen" (subject)
cf. "It is Not the Cold Wind" (theme)
cf. "My Heart Is As Licht As a Feather" (theme)
cf. "The Bonnie Boy I Loved" (theme)
cf. "Sweethearts I've Got Plenty" (theme)
cf. "Now My Love's Forsaken Me" (theme)
cf. "Adieu, False Heart" (theme)
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Fare Thee Well Cold Winter
NOTES [236 words]: Cohen seems to think that the Ozark versions of this piece, known from Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety and Randolph, are a separate song, and it is possible that he's right and that it simply swallowed elements of "Farewell He." But since the swallowing was nearly complete, it seems better to lump them. In this, unusually, I agree with Roud.
The situation is similar with Gardner and Chickering: Their "My Love Is on the Ocean" has distinct first and last stanzas:
My love is on the ocean, O let him sink or swim,
For in how own mind he thinks he's better than I am.
He think that he can slide me as he slided two or three,
But I'll give him back the mitten since he's gone back on me.
Final verse:
Go tell it to his mother; I set her heart at ease.
I hear she is a lady that's very hard to please.
I hear that she speaks of me that's hardly ever done.
Go tell it to her, I do not want her son!
It will be evident, however, that this text fits the tune of "Farewell He," and the material in between, including the chorus, is "Farewell He." Indeed, of Gardner and Chickering's texts, the one they call "Farewell He" actually looks less like the song of that title, except that it uses that key phrase!
So, once again, I lump (this time disagreeing with Roud).
The whole family cold probably use a thorough study, including both these songs, the Ozark versions, and "Dark and Dreary Weather." - RBW
Last updated in version 5.1
File: FSC41

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2022 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: ADD Version: Farewell She
From: yrlancslad
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 03:08 PM

FAREWELL SHE

Fare thee well cold winter and fare thee well cold frost
nothing have I gained but my true love I've lost
I will drink and I'll be merry when good fortune I do see
I willrest when I am weary, let her go farewell she

Last night I saw my truelove laid down in yonder grove
She smiled as I passed by and a blush came from my love
And she thought I should have spoken to her as I passed by
But before I"ll humble to my love I"ll lay me down and die

Take half a pound of reason one quarter pound of sense
One small sprig of thyme and a little of prudence
Put them all together and you will plainly see
She's a false hearted lover let her go farewell she

Repeat 1st verse


I know this looks a lot like All around my hat but its the best version I've come up with for a male singer
Malcolm

Subject: Lyr Add: FAREWELL HE
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 01 Feb 05 - 04:26 PM

Nutty, that version in the Bodleian deserves posting.

FAREWELL HE

It's fare you well cold winter and fare you well cold frost,
Nothing I've gained but my true love I've lost,
I will sing and be merry while a *caution I do see,
And I will rest me when I'm weary let him go farewell he.

Last night he brought me a fine diamond ring,
*And thought to have deprived me of a far better thing,
But he was not so skillful as a lover might be,
I defy the lad for ever let him go farewell he.

He has another sweetheart but that is all a joke,
*But if he had twenty he would not me provoke
And if he likes another 'tis as they can agree,
And I have the choice of twenty let him go farewell he.

*As I was walking down by a shady green grove,
He met me with a smiling face and gave to me the road,
He thought I would *have spoke to him as I passed by,
But before I would humble to him I will lay down and die.

To half a pound of reason take half a grain of sense
A small sprig of *time and as much prudence,
And mix them up together as you may plainly see
(I) defy the lad forever let him go farewell he.

J. Catnach, printer, London, ca. 1813-1838, Bodleian Library, Ballads Catalogue, Harding B11(2298).

* 'occasion' in a sheet printed in Liverpool, 1820-1824, Harding B 28(162): Other differences- *He thought he would deprive me; *He thought in his heart he would me provoke; *As we were walking in yonder shady grove; *speak to him; *One sprig of thyme (I like 'time').

Subject: RE: lyrics:Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 03:22 AM

There's a late 17th century broadside song, The young-man's lamentation, that ends

Tho' I am forsaken,
yet she is forsworn,
Yet she is mistaken
if she think that I'll mourn,
I'll set as slightly by her,
as e'er she did me,
And for ever will deny her,
let her go, farewel she.

It begins

Meeting's a pleasure,
but parting's a grief,
An Unconstant lover
is worse than a Thief;
A Theif he can Rob me,
and take what I have,
but an Unconstant Lover
will bring me to the grave.


Early examples of two much-travelled floaters. You can see an image at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads, but it's largely illegible.

The young-mans lamentation

Subject: Lyr Add: FARE THEE WELL, COLD WINTER
From: GUEST,nutty
Date: 02 Feb 05 - 11:26 AM

Another Bodleian version .... closer to what the Watersons sang....

Fare Thee Well Cold Winter

Fare thee well cold winter, fare thee well cold frost
Nothing have I gained but a false young man I've lost
If he has got another and with him can agree
He's welcome to go with her and shun my company
        He's welcome etc.

The last time that I met him was in a shady road
He looked at me and smiled then handed me a rose
He thought that I wouls speak to him just as he passed me by
But rather than I'd humble I would lay me down and die
        But rather etc.

He wrote to me a letter to say that he was sad
I wrote to him another to say that I was glad
That he could keep his papers and I would spend my time
For I care no more for his cold heart than he could care for mine
        For I care etc.

And when the room he entered with a bride upon his arm
I stood and gazed upon him as if to be a charm
And when he smiled upon her as he used to smile on me
And when his tounge will flatter he will find no change in me
        And when his etc.

[Fare] thee well cold winter ("Oh, fare thee well cold winter ...")
Johnson Ballads 2487
Printer: [s.n.] ([s.l.])
Date: [s.a.]

Subject: Lyr Add: LET HIM GO, LET HIM STAY (trad Maine)
From: GUEST,Julia L
Date: 27 Sep 14 - 10:16 PM

This Maine version seems to be a combination of Farewell He and the Scottish Sands on the Shore. Just posting FYI- no tune noted


BERTHA J. AND FRANK E. KNEELAND (1914-17)
Searsport, Maine

LET HIM GO, LET HIM STAY

1
Adieu to ye cold winters
Farewell to your frost
There is nothing I have gained
But my true love I have lost
I can sing and be as merry
As the gayest girl you see
I can rest when I am weary -
Let him go! Farewell he!

Chorus

Let him go, Let him stay
Let him sink or let him swim
For since he has deceived me
I care no more for him
There are young men a-plenty
And enough as good as he
And I care no more about him
Than the sands of the sea

2
My true love he sent me
A fine diamond ring
He thinks to delude me
And to his heart to win
He thinks to delude me
As he has two or three
I defy a man to do it
Let him go! Farewell he!

Chorus

3
My true love he met me
Down by the shady groves
He smiled in my face
And offered me a rose
He thinks that I would speak to him
As he was passing by
But before I'd humble to that man
I'd lay me down and die

Chorus

4
I've love in my pocket
But none in my heart
I have but a little
I share you all a part
My heart is as light
As the dew upon the lawn
I can lay it down at night
And take it up at morn

Chorus

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)
From: RoyH (Burl)
Date: 28 Sep 14 - 10:51 AM

I have memories of this song, with the 'Half a pound of reason' verse being beautifully sung by the late, great, Cyril Tawney. How we miss him.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 28 Sep 14 - 12:01 PM

I have ref'd back to this song on the '50s popsongs from folk' thread, in re "Let him go, let him tarry", which seems to me to derive from, or be a variant of, it.

≈M≈

Subject: ADD Version: Farewell He (from Jean Redpath))
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Nov 22 - 01:25 AM

Jean Redpath has an interesting recording of this song on her Folk-Legacy album, Frae My Ain Countrie, FSS-49 (1973)

FAREWELL HE
Again, it was Archie Fisher who introduced me to this delightful piece of refined nose-thumbing. The Dorset Book of Folksongs names Mrs. Russell of Upwey as the source singer. In this country there is a Missouri representative with rather more familiar words:

If he's gone, let him go,
Let him sink or let him swim.
As he does not care for me,
Why should I care for him?
I hope he may have good fortune,
And myself but better grace,
For I can get another,
Far better, in his place.
(Randolph's Ozark Folksongs)

The early feminist's answer to the legions of "died-for-love" maidens!

FAREWELLL HE

Fare thee well cold winter,
And fare thee well cold frost.
There is nothing I have gained,
But a lover I have lost.
I will sing and I'll be merry
When fortune I do see;
And I'll rest me when I'm weary
Let him go then - farewell he.

Last night I saw my true love
All down in yonder grove.
I gave to him a smile;
Not a word came from my love.
Well, if he likes another
And together they agree,
I can find another lover -
Let him go then - farewell he.

Take half-a-pound of reason,
Half-an-ounce of common sense,
A sprig of thyme in season,
A little sage prudence.
Then mix them well together
And I think you'll plainly see
He's no lad for windy weather -
Let him go then - farewell he.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUzlUvfXj3M

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell He/She? (Adieu to Dark Weather)
From: The Sandman
Date: 27 Nov 22 - 03:41 PM

very good singing from Jean Redpath, what a shame the version from Cyril Tawney is not available