The 1909 recording of Frederick White's set of Claudy Banks is included on  A Century of Song  (EFDSSCD02).  The documentation that originally accompanied the phonograph recording has been lost at some point, so it's not 100% certain that it is Mr. White singing; the recording was most likely made by J.F. Guyer and/or George Gardiner.  Notation of the song was published in the Journal of the Folk Song Society, vol.3, no.4, 1909.  Vaughan Williams got another version, Cloddy Banks, from Peter Verrall of Horsham, Sussex, in 1908.

The lyrics of Frederick White's version, as recorded by Waterson/Carthy, were posted here earlier in the year:  Banks of Claudy.

There is an entry at  The Traditional Ballad Index,  Banks of Claudy,  but as usual they have the "earliest date" wrong, and don't appear to have noticed that the song has been widely found in tradition in England.  The version recorded by The Young Tradition, which they learned from the Copper Family (who at the time were singing a shorter set than they do now), is in the DT, as mentioned above:  Claudy Banks.  A Century of Song also includes a recording from 1986 of the Coppers singing it.

Malcolm

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Here is the Traditional Ballad Index entry.
-Joe Offer-

Banks of Claudy, The [Laws N40]

DESCRIPTION: The singer meets a girl on the banks of Claudy. She is seeking her lover. He tells her Johnny is false, she rejects this. He tells her Johnny is shipwrecked; she is distressed. He tells her he is Johnny. She rejoices
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1906 (Belden)
KEYWORDS: separation reunion trick love
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MW,SE,So) Canada(Mar) Britain(Scotland) Australia Ireland
REFERENCES (11 citations):
Laws N40, "The Banks of Claudy"
Belden, pp. 154-155, "The Banks of Claudy" (1 text)
Randolph 47, "The Banks of Cloddy" (1 text plus 1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Hudson 38, p. 152, "The Banks of Claudie" (1 text)
Eddy 55, "The Banks of Claudie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Meredith/Anderson, pp. 166-167, "The Banks of Claudy" (1 text, 1 tune)
SHenry H5+H693, p. 313, "The Banks of Claudy" (1 text, 1 tune)
LPound-ABS, 30, pp., "The Lover's Return" (1 text)
JHCox 321, "The Banks of Claudie" (1 text plus mention of 1 more)
Ord, p. 130, "The Banks of Claudy" (1 text)
DT 465, BCLAUDIE CLAUDYBK
RECORDINGS:
Bob & Ron Copper, "Claudy Banks" (on LastDays)
George Maynard, "The Banks of Claudy" (on Maynard1)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John (George) Riley (I)" [Laws N36] and references there
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Claudy Banks
File: LN40

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