Hi,

This is the 3rd installment of the "Seventeen" headnotes covering the Scottish and Irish traditions. To view the entire headnotes: http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/9-seventeen-come-sunday.aspx

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3rd Part: "Seventeen" Headnotes:


[The Tradition (Overview)
The traditional versions are based on, or similar, the four main forms A-D. The Scottish "Waulkrife Mammy" ballad descent is archaic and dates back at least to the first half of the 1700s and possibly earlier. Whether A originated in print is unknown but an early missing Scottish print is likely[25]. The first extant print of A, is Ac, "The Lassie Lost Her Maidenhead a' for Her Waukrif Mammie," dated 1795. A sanitized revision, B "Maid and Soldier (Lady and Soldier)" which dates back to the late 1700s in Scotland and the early 1800s in England, introduced new stanzas and changed the story line. By the 1830s another print revision, C, was made titled "Soldier and The Fair Maid" and about the same time the popular revision, D, "Seventeen Come Sunday" was issued and widely reprinted until the 1880s.

The English descent begins with "Maid and Soldier" and continues with the two reprints of the 1830s, "Soldier and The Fair Maid" and the popular broadside, "Seventeen Come Sunday." The English traditional versions are similar to or based on the print versions of "Seventeen," the third revision (c.1840).

The Irish descent runs parallel to the Scottish. Although there is anecdotal evidence[26] (Joyce remembers it in his childhood) that "Waukrife Mammy" was known in Ireland during early 1800s, no early versions have survived. In Scotland the opening stanza of Waukrife Mammy had been combined with the "Maid and Soldier" by circa 1800. The earliest extant Irish versions collected by Sam Henry in the early 1900s show the popular opening stanza from Waukrife and the text from Maid and Soldier were part of tradition. Sam Henry A, collected in 1926, is classified as a version of Waukrife and has the "well-beat daughter" stanza. The associations that started with "Maid and Soldier" borrowing from the "Trooper and the Maid" continued and by the mid-1900s "As I Roved Out" (originally titled, "When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells"), a composite with Trooper and the Maid, was recorded by Seamus Ennis of Dublin in 1947. This important composite helped spawn a series of related cover songs and propelled "As I Roved Out" into the UK folk mainstream. The fact that the title "As I Roved Out" represented by Ennis' song, was used for Peter Kennedy and Seamus Ennis' regular Sunday morning BBS Radio Programme broadcast six years in the 1950s added to the song's popularity. The other important traditional Irish "As I Roved Out" title was first recorded by Sarah Makem for Jean Ritchie in 1952. The Makem family's longer version[27] was popularized by Tommy Makem, Clancy Brothers and later by Joe Heaney and Len Graham. The problem with the "As I Roved Out" title is that the same beginning text is found in any number of different songs and is a ballad commonplace.

In North America the "Seventeen Come Sunday" ballads are a mixture of the basic forms and full versions of the forms are rarely found. Broadsides and print versions were not made and the versions appear to have been disseminated by immigrants and over time have been reduced or new stanzas have been added. There are only two versions that are from the older Scottish Waukrife Mammy tradition (Sharp A and Eddy B) and these are missing the details. In the US "Seventeen come Sunday" is usually "sixteen next Sunday" and "bonny lassie" is "pretty little miss." This identifying stanza (How old are you) is frequently combined with stanzas from other songs to form new composites.

The Scottish Tradition ("Waukrife Mammy," "My Rolling Eye," "As I Gaed O'er yon High, High Hill")
Reports of the history of this ballad, including those from the late 1700s, indicate that the ballad is "old." How old is a matter of conjecture and a date of the early 1700s seems to be appropriate, although the ballad may be older in Scotland-- originating in the 1600s. Burns collected a version from Martha Crosbie about 1788, who Burns doesn't identify but calls a country girl from Nithsdale. Her identity is revealed by Cromek in his 1810 book, Select Scottish Songs, Ancient and Modern, Volume 2. Burns gave Johnson a copy about 1790 and he is probably the transcriber of the melody found in Johnson's Musical Museum, Volume 3, No. 188. Cromek printed Burns stanzas in Select Scottish Songs and supplied an additional ending stanza[28] from tradition that Burns was missing. In 1825 Alan Cunningham gave two stanzas supposedly from tradition in his "The Songs of Scotland, Ancient and Modern" Volume 2, p. 244-245. His ending stanza is the same as Cromek's with slight variation. That ending stanza is the "clod/clog that winna (will not) cling" stanza which means that as a result of her dalliance with her young man-- she is now pregnant. Cunningham alleged that Burns had reworked his stanzas but upon examination it appears that only 4 lines have been recreated by Burns. The stanzas of Burns version was confirmed by Thomas Lyle who published a longer version titled "Wakerife Mammy" in his 1827 book "Ancient Ballads and Songs: Chiefly from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce Works." Lyle's version is apparently taken from tradition but he gives no informants. His inclusion of text similar to Burns is suspicious for Lyle calls both Burns and Cunningham's stanzas "faulty[29]." Lyle's text was printed in a Falkirk chapbook[30] about 1830 which presumably was taken from Lyle[31] and reprinted (see that edition online). The identifying stanza "How old are you (Seventeen Come Sunday)" is missing showing that the versions by Burns, Cunningham, Lyle and the Falkirk chapbook were all "faulty."

The first print dated 1795 that was thought to have been published in Edinburgh[32] is titled "The Lassie Lost Her Maidenhead a' for Her Waukrif Mammie." That revealing title which translates-- "The Lassie lost her virginity in spite of her wakeful mother"-- was published in a chapbook titled: "Four Excellent New Songs: The Lassie Lost Her Maidenhead a' for Her Waukrif Mammie. Johnie Cope. Rinorden, Or The Mountains High The General Toast. Entered and Licenced." The 1795 print although poorly rewritten in a jumble of inconsistent Scottish slang has the full stanzas and includes the fundamental missing "How old are you" stanza. This along with several complete or nearly complete versions taken from tradition show that the ur-ballad (original complete ballad) was about 11 stanzas long and was probably printed earlier but is missing. Fortunately there are 14 different versions of Waukrife Mammy and one duplicate (version Af). Four versions are taken from the James Madison Carpenter Collection and the single Irish representative is from Sam Henry.

Four important traditional version of A were collected after the version printed in Lyle's 1827 book:

1) "The Well Pay't Dochter," was collected in Lochwinioch, Scotland from William Orr about c.1829 and appears in Andrew Crawfurd's Collection of Ballads and Songs: edited E. B. Lyle; Edinburgh: Scottish Text Society, 1975. Written in heavy Scotch brogue, Orr's version is only lacking one stanza and has "rinkand" (wakened) instead of "waukrife" (wakeful).
2) "As I Gaed O'er yon Hech, Hech Hill," was recited by Bell Roberston (1841-1922) of New Pitsligo, Aberdeenshire and collected by Gavin Greig about 1906. It appears in The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection as version L. This version is much older and has possibly been passed down to Bell from her grandmother Isobel Stephen which would date this to the late 1700s in Strichen.
3) "As I Came Our[O'er] yon High, High Hill," sung by Mrs. Margaret Gillespie (1841-1910) later of Glasgow. The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, version B, collected by Rev. Duncan from his sister in the early 1900s, dated c.1870 but older.
4) "My Rolling Eye" dated c. 1850. Taken from Alexander Smith of Perthshire by Robert Ford. Published in Vagabond Songs and Ballads of Scotland: With Many Old and Familiar Melodies, edited by Robert Ford, 1899.

The fourth version by Alexander Smith shows the mixture of the late 1700s broadside rewrite, "Maid and Soldier." The new text includes the "Her shoes were black" stanza, the soldier as lover, and the line "When the moon is shining clearly." The last two changes are similarly found in Child 299, Trooper and the Maid. It's evident that stanzas of B. "Maid and Soldier" started becoming used in versions of Waukrife Mammy in the early to mid-1800s. The opening stanza of Waukrife Mammy was used for these newer versions of "Maid and soldier." Gone is the waukrife mammy who is now just "mammy" and the episode with her daughter's new lover has been replaced by core stanzas of "Maid and Soldier" which appear similarly in the other revisions. Before the other new revisions are considered, the following identifiers for Waulrife Mammy are given:

Waukrife Mammy Identifiers (11 stanzas)
(opening) "As I gaed o'er the Highland hills" or "high, high hill[s]"
"waukrife" (wakeful) or "rinkand" (wakened)
"Where are ye gaun, my bonnnie lass?"
"What is yer name, my bonnie lass?
"What is yer age, my bonnie lass?
"Where do ye dwell (bide), my bonnie lass?
Will ye hae(take) a man my bonnie lass?
Will I come and see ye, my bonnie lass?
"O weary fa' the wakerife cock"
"clod/clog that winna (will not) cling"
"Well-paid dochter (daughter)
(ending) "Fare thee weel, my bonnie lass,"

Although some of the questions remain consistent, the dynamic story line of "Waukrife Mammy" is lost in the "Maid and Soldier" and the later revisions. The ending in the revisions is poorly sanitized: the cock does not crow too early and wake the mother; her mother does not enter the room and blow on the coals of the fire to illuminate the face of her daughter's lover to see if she can recognize him; her lover does not slip out of bed and run to the fields to hide; her mother does not take her daughter by the hair to the floor and spank her with a green hazel switch so that she was a well-punished daughter; she does not look over the hill because she has gotten pregnant despite her wakeful mother; he does not bid her farewell and tell her that he would come to see her again if not for her wakeful mother.

In the revision endings the poetry is gone, her lover is now a soldier. He comes to her house, then the action skips to the soldier leaving while the maid insists that he marry her. Both the endings in the revisions are wanting: 1) in the "Maid and Soldier" he's already married but is a rambler who has a girl in every town 2) she is with her soldier lad while he's fighting the wars.

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Later Scottish Tradition
The later Scottish tradition texts use the Waukrife Mammy opening stanza followed by the questions (Where are ye gaun? etc), then comes stanzas from Maid and Soldier used in the rendezvous at the maid's house. Although most of the questions are the same in the later Scottish versions, one question, "What is yer name?" (which she gives as "Bonnie Annie"), is different and was either missing from earliest versions or has been added in the 1800s. The ending, an invitation for the soldier to visit her, is a mixture of the revisions and not part of the early "Waukrife Mammy" tradition. An example of a composite with the later tradition is "My Rolling Eye" which has elements of both traditions and includes the "soldier" (sodger) and the "When the moon shines bright and clearly" line. "Rolling Eye" is a title named for the chorus of nonsense syllables that follow each stanza which begins, "With my rolling eye." The later tradition of "Rolling Eye" is exemplified by "Wi Ma Rovin Eye" a North Scotland version by Ossian, a well-known Scottish folk band. In Willie Mathieson's "Rollin' Eye" the "Waukrife Mammy" stanzas are gone. Duncan Williamson's "My Rolling Eye" does not have the "Waukrife Mammy" text and shows a connection to many of the US versions with the lines:

She wink-ed at me with a "tee-lee-lee,"
I'll be sixteen next Monday.

The later tradition includes many of the versions in The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection from the early 1900s. Their master title is "Soldier Lad." The following version collected by Rev. Duncan about 1906 is related to the revision, "Maid and Soldier."

"As I Went Owre Yon High, High Hill," from Mrs. Grieg, Greig-Duncan D

1. As I went owre yon high, high hill,
I met a bonnie lassie;
She looked at me and I to her,
And oh, but she seemed saucy.

Wi' my too rin in a, a reedle a,
Fal de dae ral i do, wi' my too rin an' a.

2. Faur are ye gaun, my bonnie, bonnie lass,
Faur are ye gaun, my honey,
Right modestly she answered me,
An' erran' to my mammie.

3. Faur is your hame, my bonnie, bonnie lass,
Faur is your hame, my honey?
Right modestly she answered me,
In a wee hoose wi'my mammie.

4. Will ye gang wi' me, my bonnie, bonnie lass,
Will ye gang wi' me, my honey?"
Right modestly she answered him,
I durna for my mammie.

5. Now sodger ye maun marry me,
Now's the time or never,
Sodger ye maun marry me,
Or I am done for ever."

6. I have a wife in my ain countree,
An' how could I abuse her,
I have a lass in every place
An' a girlie when I choose her.

The ending is clearly "Maid and Soldier" however the last two stanzas of Maid and Soldier" (with "hautboy is my delight") are not found in Scottish tradition and rarely in the English[33]. Besides the Grieg Duncan Collection, the Carpenter Collection has a number of excellent Scottish texts of the later tradition. Their master title is "Bonnie Lassie." The version "As I Gaed Up Yon Hich, Hich Hill," sung by Leslie Durno of Insch was learned from George Doe, a peddler, old Scottish Soldier in 1873. It is a good example of the "Waukrife" opening followed by stanzas of "Maid and Soldier." The ending two stanzas of "Maid" are usually gone and the 8th stanza has been expanded.

In general, versions of later Scottish tradition keep the opening stanza from the "Waulkrife" ballads then use stanzas from Soldier and the Maid. Scottish examples from the early 1950s-1970s may be heard online at the School of Scottish Studies.

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The Irish Tradition
Although corroborating evidence is lacking, the Irish Tradition appears to parallel the Scottish and may be nearly as old. In his 1873 book, "Ancient Irish Music: comprising one hundred Airs hitherto unpublished. . .", Patrick Weston Joyce (1827-1914) commented: "I cannot tell when I learned the air and words of this song, for I have known them as long as my memory can reach back. Some portions of the old song are spirited and well adapted to the air; others are very rude and worthless. . .". The song text he gives, which is completely rewritten and titled "I'm Going to Be Married on Sunday," only includes this trace of the "Seventeen" ballad: "I?m sixteen years old on next Sunday!? If we assume the song Joyce knew when he was young was a version of "Seventeen," that dates it to the 1830s in Ireland.

The earliest extant version, "I'm Seventeen 'gin Sunday" from Ballycastle District (published Oct. 9, 1926 by Sam Henry) has two stanzas from "Waukrife Mammy" and is classified as a version of A, although it also has stanzas from "Maid and Soldier." The "shoes and stockings" stanza and the two "And the moon was shining clearly" stanzas are found in the early revision, "Maid and Soldier." Here's the text from Sam Henry's Songs of the People edited by Gale Huntington, Lani Herrmann:

"I'm Seventeen 'gin Sunday" from Ballycastle District, published Oct. 9, 1926.

'Where are you going, my bonnie wee lass?
Where are you going, my honey?'
Right modestly she answered me,
'An errand for my mammy.'

CHORUS: With my roor-ri-ra, Fond a doo a da,
With my roo ri ranta mirandy.

'What's your age, my bonnie wee lass,
What's your age, my honey?'
Right modestly she answered me,
'I'm seventeen 'gin Sunday.'

'Would you tak' a man, my bonnie wee lass?
Would you tak' a man, my honey?'
Right modestly she answered me,
'If it wasny for my mammy.

She had new shoes and stockin's too,
And her buckles shone like silver,
She had a dark and rolling eye,
And her hair hanging over her shoulders.

'If I would go doon to your wee hoose,
And the moon was shining clearly,
Would you open the do[o]r and let me in,
If the oul' wife widna hear me?'

I gaed doon to her wee hoose,
And the moon was shining clearly,
She opened the do[o]r and let me in,
And the oul' wife didna hear me.

Canny slippin' aff my boots
In case that oul' thrush wid ken me,
But by my feth I wasn't long in
Till the oul' wife heard us talkin'.

Canny slippin' doon the stairs,
By the hair o' the heed she caught her
And with a great big hazel stick
She left her a well-bate daughter.

Throwing in the stool tae the fire
In case that oul' thrush wid ken me,
But by my feth I had tae tak'
The green fields tae defend me.

Come over the burn, my bonnie wee lass,
Come over the burn, my honey,
Till I get a kiss o' your sweet lips
To spite your aul', aul' mammy.

This second version from Sam Henry starts off with the archaic Scottish opening and follows with the more modern stanzas of the "Seventeen Come Sunday" broadsides of the mid 1800s.

"As I Gaed ower a Whinny Knowe," sung by Andy Allen of Bridge Cottage, Coleraine; published Feb 4, 1939.

As I went ower a whinny knowe
I met a bonny lassie,
She laughed at me, I winked at her,
and oh, but I was sassie.

Wi my ru rum ra, far an ta a na,
[W]hack fal tar an addy.

Her shoes were black, her stockings white,
her buckles shone like silver,
She had a dark and rolling eye
and her hair hung ower her shoulder.

'Oh, where are you going, my bonny wee lass?
Oh, where are you going, my honey?'
Right modestly she answered me,
'Gaun a message for my mammy.'

'What is your age, my bonny wee lass?
What is your age, my honey?
Right cheerfully she answered me,
'I'll be seventeen come come Sunday.'

'Would you give me a kiss, my bonny wee lass?
Would you give me a kiss, my bonny?'
Right bashfully she answered me,
'I dare not for my mammy.'

'Oh, where do you live, my bonny wee lass?
Oh, where do you live, my honey?
Right joyfully she answered me,
'In a wee house wi' my mammy. '

So I went down to her wee house,
the moon was shining clearly;
I rapped upon her window pane
and the old wife didna hear me.

'Oh, open the door, my bonny wee lass,
come open the door, my honey,
And I will give you a kiss or two,
in spite of your old mammy. '

'Oh, soldier, would you marry me?
For now's your time or never.
For if you do not marry me ,
my heart is broke for ever.'

So now she is the soldier's wife
and sails across the brine-o,
The drum and fife is my delight,
and a merry heart is mine-o.

This second version mirrors the new Scottish tradition and is evidence that the third revision (Seventeen Come Sunday) was current in Ireland. As no Irish broadsides have been recovered, it may be assume that at least some were printed or the Scottish "Waukrife" prints managed to effect tradition. By the early to mid-1900s a new version appeared that was composite with Trooper and the Maid.

In 1947 a first version of this modern Irish tradition titled, "As I Roved Out," was recorded by Seamus Ennis of Dublin. His new composite, first titled "When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells," combined "Trooper and the Maid" with "Seventeen"--the first stanzas were "Seventeen" while the last stanzas were "Trooper and the Maid." This important composite helped spawn a series of related cover songs and propelled "As I Roved Out" into the UK folk mainstream. The fact that the title "As I Roved Out" came to represent not only Ennis' song but was the name of a BBS Radio Programme of Irish folk music, was instrumental in propelling the song info the folk mainstream where it was covered by a number of folk musicians (see cover by Isla Cameron). The regular Sunday morning radio show was hosted by Peter Kennedy and Seamus Ennis for six years in the 1950s. The other important traditional Irish "As I Roved Out" composite was recorded by Sarah Makem for Jean Ritchie in 1952. Although Makem only sang two stanzas for Ritchie, the Makem family's longer 8 stanza version was transcribed by her great-grand-daughter, Stéphanie Makem[34]. This longer version was popularized by Tommy Makem, Clancy Brothers and later arranged by Joe Heaney-- the latter performer had an elaborate arrangement with two melodies and choruses (incorporating both the popular "As I Roved Out" versions). The title "As I Roved Out" has been used for any number of different songs and is a ballad commonplace.

Seanmus Ennis recorded two versions; "When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells" in 1947 and around 1951 recorded a short five stanza versions title "As I Roved Out," which is "Seventeen" with the "When Cockle Shells" ending. The complete "When Cockle Shells Make Silver Bells" text was retitled "As I Roved Out" when published by Peter Kennedy in 1951.

"When cockle shells make silver bells" (As I Roved Out)- sung by Seamus Ennis of Dublin as recorded on AFS 09961A, 1947. Stanzas follow the form of stanza 1 with chorus. Paul Clayton did a cover of this version in 1957.

1 As I roved out one bright May morning
One May morning early,
As I roved out one bright May morning
One May morning early
I met a maid upon the way
She was her mama's darling
CHORUS: With me roo-rum-re. Fal-the-diddle-ra,
Star-vee-upple, al-the-di-dee, do

2. Her shoes were black and her stockin's white
And her hair shines like the silver
She has two nice bright sparkling eyes
And her hair hangs o'er her shoulder.

3 "What age are you, my pretty fair maid?
What age are you, my darling?"
She answered me quite modestly,
"I'm sixteen years next Monday morning."

4 "And will you come to my Mama's house?
The moon shines bright and clearly
O, open the door, and let me in
And Dada will not hear us."

5 She took me by the lily-white hand
And led me to the table,
There's plenty of wine for soldiers here
As far as they can take it.

6. She took my horse by the bridle rein,
And led him to the stable
There's plenty of hay for a soldier's horse
As far as they are able.

7. And she went up and dressed the bed
And dressed it soft and easy
And I went up to tuck her in
Crying: "Lassie, are you comfortable?"

8. I slept in the house till the break of day
And in the morning early
I got up and put on my shoes
Crying: "Lassie, I must leave you!"

9 "And when till you return again,
Or when till we get married?"
"When cockle shells make silver bells
That's the time we'll marry."

Here's the second version which is shorter and closer to "Seventeen":

As I Roved Out- sung by Seamus Ennis, Dublin c. 1951; recorded by Alan Lomax

As I roved out one bright May morning,
On a May morning early,
As I roved out one bright May morning,
On a May morning early,
I met a maid upon the way,
She was her mama's darling.

Chorus: With me rule-rum-rah, fa-la-diddle-da,
Shall be diddle all the day-dee-do.

Her shoes were black and her stockings white,
And her hair shines like the silver;
Her shoes were black and her stockings white,
And her hair shines like the silver;
She has two nice bright sparking eyes,
And her hair hangs o'er her shoulders.
Chorus

"What age are you, my pretty fair maid?
What age are you, my darling?
"What age are you, my pretty fair maid?
What age are you, my darling?
She answered me quite modestly,
"I'm sixteen years next Monday morning."
Chorus

"Will you come to my Mama's house,
The moon shines bright and clearly?
Will you come to my Mama's house,
The moon shines bright and clearly?
Oh, open the door and let me in,
And Dada will not hear us."
Chorus

"When will you return again,
Or when will we get married?
When will you return again,
Or when will we get married?"
"When cockle shells make silver bells
That's the time we'll marry."
Chorus

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXSbxe-FHEQ

The other influential traditional recording titled "As I Roved out" was Jean Ritchie's recording of Sara Makem in 1952. Irish traditional singer Sarah Makem was born October 18, 1900 and died 20 April 1983. She was a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Sarah was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem. Sarah Makem and her cousin, Annie Jane Kelly, were members of the Singing Greenes of Keady[35]. Here's the two stanza version which has the corruption in the first stanza of "early" rhyming with "early" instead of the Scot, "saucy":

"As I Roved Out" sung by Sarah Makem as recorded by Jean Ritchie, November, 1952

As I roved out on a May morning
On a May morning right early
I met my love upon the way
Oh, Lord but she was early.

Chorus:
And she sang lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle-dee,
And she hi-di-lan-di-dee, and she hi-di-lan-di-dee and she lan--day.

Her boots were black and her stockings white
Her buckles shone like silver
She had a dark and a rollin' eye
And her ear-rings tipped her shoulder.

Chorus:
And she sang lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle-dee,
And she hi-di-lan-di-dee, and she hi-di-lan-di-dee and she lan--day.

Irish folklorist Sean O'Boyle from Armagh brought Jean and her husband, George Picklow, to meet Sarah in Keady. After the recording Jean believed Sarah (about 52 years old) only knew those two stanzas[36]. Ritchie later recorded her father's version of "Seventeen" with Doc Watson. Sarah's 1956 version also had two stanzas and it seems likely that family and musical friends added stanzas to create the following complete version--although the stanzas are attributed to Sarah by her great-granddaughter[37]:

As I Roved Out - Makem family long version

As I roved out on a May morning
On a May morning right early
I met my love upon the way
Oh, Lord but she was early.

Chorus:
And she sang lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle, lilt-a-doodle-dee,
And she hi-di-lan-di-dee, and she hi-di-lan-di-dee and she lan-day.

2. Her boots were black and her stockings white
Her buckles shone like silver
She had a dark and a rolling eye
And her ear-rings tipped her shoulder.

3. "What age are you my bonny wee lass
What age are you my honey?"
Right modestly she answered me
"I'll be seventeen on Sunday."

4. "Where do you live my bonny wee lass
Where do you live my honey?"
"In a wee house up on the top of the hill
And I live there with my mammy."

5. "If I went to the house on the top of the hill
When the moon was shining clearly
Would you arise and let me in
And your mammy not to hear you?"

6. I went to the house on the top of the hill
When the moon was shining dearly
She arose to let me in
But her mammy chanced to hear her.

7. She caught her by the hair of the head
And down to the room she brought her
And with the butt of a hazel twig
She was the well-beat daughter

8. "Will you marry me now my soldier lad
Will you marry me now or never?
Will you marry me now my soldier lad
For you see I'm done forever"

9. "I can't marry you my bonny wee lass
I can't marry you my honey
For I have got a wife at home
And how could I disown her?"

An additional ending stanza was added by Tommy Makem to the family version.

10. A pint at night is my delight
And a gallon in the morning
The old women are my heart break
But the young ones is my darling.

Tommy's last stanza is a reworking of the popular broadside ending of Seventeen come Sunday. The "hazel twig" stanza (7th) is from the Waukrife tradition while stanzas 3-6 and 7-8 are from the Maid and Soldier revision. Dozens of cover's have been made of the Makem version. David Hammond (on "I Am The Wee Falorie Man," 1958) recorded a cover version of the two stanza fragment of Sarah Makem. The great Northern Irish singer Len Graham, and a singer from the border, County Louth, Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin recorded a version of the long Makem/Clancy version as well as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and The Woods Band. Joe Heaney's arrangement of the Makem family's "As I Roved Out" is combined with Ennis' "As I Roved Out" which became one of his signature songs in concert.

This brief Irish study concludes with a version collected from Mary Delaney who learned it in the 1940s from County Tipperary traveller, "Snap" Cash. It's from the recording From Puck to Appleby: Songs and stories from Jim Carroll's and Pat Mackenzie's recordings of Irish Travellers in England:

New Ross Town- from Irish traveller Mary Delaney, learned about 1944.

For, as I went out on a moonlight night
As the moon shined bright and clearly,
When a New Ross girl I chanced to meet,
She looks at me surprising;
We had a roo ry rah, fol the diddle ah,
Roo ry, roo ry, roo ry rah.

"Oh, will I go, my dear," he says,
"Or will I go my honey?"
Nice and gay she answered me,
"Go down and ask me mammy."
We?ll have roo ry rah, fol the diddle ah,
Roo ry rah she was a tome old hag.

Oh, I went down to her mammy's house
When the moon shined bright and clearly,
She opened the door and let me in
And her mammy never heard us;
We had ...

"Oh, soldier dear, will you marry me
For now is your time or ever,
Oh, Holy God, will you marry me?
If you don't and I'm ruined for ever;"
With my ...

"You are too young, my dear," he says,
"You are too young, my honey."
"For if you think I am too young,
Go down and ask me mammy;"
We?ll have ...

"How old are you, my dear," he says,
"How old are you, my honey?"
Nice and gay she answered me,
"Gone seventeen since Sunday."
With my ...

"Now I have a wife and a comely wife,
And a wife, I won't forsake her,
There's ne'er a town I would walk down
Where I'd get one if I take her."
With my roo ry rah, fol the diddle ah,
Roo ry rah you are a tome old hag.

Delaney's version obviously is not related to either of the popular "As I Roved Out" versions but is from the tradition of the first revision, Maid and Soldier.

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Footnotes:

25. Since the story is so consistent, a missing print version is indicated. The first public print, dated 1795, is clearly taken from another print and reworked.
26. Patrick Weston Joyce (1827-1914) commented in his 1873 book, "Ancient Irish Music": "I cannot tell when I learned the air and words of this song, for I have known them as long as my memory can reach back.
27. In their book the full arrangement was "adapted by Sarah & Tommy Makem and Pat, Tom, and Liam Clancy"
28. See stanza in the Waukrife Mammy section from Cromek, Select Scottish Songs, Ancient and Modern, Volume 2, 1810.
29. "Ancient Ballads and Songs: Chiefly from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce Works" by Thomas Lyle.
30."The Waukrife Mammy" dated 1830 from a Scottish Chapbook (no publisher given) Printed for the booksellers; Falkirk. From "Two Old Songs- The Perjured Maid, The Waukrife Mammy."
31. Since only two words are different I assume the chapbook version is a reprint of Thomas Lyle's 1827 book "Ancient Ballads and Songs: Chiefly from Tradition, Manuscripts, and Scarce Works."
32. No imprint. The date is verified by Google books, the location is listed as "Edinburgh?" by two sources.
33. I know two English versions with Maid and Soldier text. The best is "Seventeen Come Sunday," sung by Amos Ash of Combe Florey, Somerset, May 1905. From: Henry Hammond Manuscript Collection (HAM/2/1/9).
34. See: Musical Traditions Records' CD notes, 2011 titled "Sarah Makem: As I Roved Out" (MTCD353-5).
35. Information from a bio at the Irish Traditional Musicians Archive. 36. Ritchie was sure of this in her comments at the Mudcat Discussion Forum. I was further corroborated by other recordings in the 1950s made by Peter Kennedy and Diane Hamilton, 1956. The same 2 stanza version was sung by cousin Annie Jane Kelly.
37. This is according to the song notes of Musical Traditions Records' 2011 release titled "Sarah Makem: As I Roved Out" (MTCD353-5).

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Richie