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This thread is intended to serve as a forum for corrections and annotations for the Digital Tradition song named in the title of this thread.Search for other DTStudy threads
I thought it might be worthwhile to sort our all the different versions of this song. We have five in the Digital Tradition:
DT Version #1
STEWBALL
Stewball was a good horse
He wore a high head
And the mane on his foretop
Was fine as silk thread
I rode him in England
I rode him in Spain
I never did lose, boys
I always did gain
So come all you gamblers
Wherever you are
And don't bet your money
On that little grey mare
Most likely she'll stumble
Most likely she'll fall
But you never will lose, boys
On my noble Stewball
As they were a-riding
'Bout halfway around
That grey mare she stumbled
And fell on the ground
And away out yonder
Ahead of them all
Came a prancin' and a dancin'
My noble Stewball
Note: The facts are that sometime around 1790 a race took place on
the curragh of Kildare (near Dublin) between a skewbald horse
owned by Sir Arthur Marvel and "Miss Portly", a gray mare owned
by Sir Ralph Gore. The race seemed to take the balladmakers'
fancies, and must have been widely sung; an early printed version
appeared in an American song book dated 1829. MJ
DT #349
Laws Q22
@animal @race
sung by Joan Baez, by PP&M
filename[ STWBLHOR
TUNE FILE: STWBLHOR
CLICK TO PLAY
SOF
DT version #2
SKEWBALL
(Steeleye Span)
You gallant sportsmen all, come listen to my story
Its of the bold Skewball, that noble racin' pony
Oh, the marvel was the man, who brought bold Skewball over
He's the diamond of the land and he rolls about in clover
The horses where brought out, with saddle whip and bridle
And the gentlemen did shout, when they saw the noble rider
And some did shout hooray, the air was thick with curses
And on the gray Griselda, the sportsmen laid their purses
The trumpet it did sound, they shot off like an arrow
They scarcely touched the ground, for the going it was narrow
Then Griselda passed him by, the gentlemen did holler
The gray will win the day, and Skewball he will follow
Then halfway round the course, up spoke the noble rider
I fell we must fall back for she's going like a tiger.
And when they did discourse, bold Skewball flew like lightning
They chased around the course, and the gray mare she was taken
Ride on my noble lord, for they have 200 guineas
The settle shall be of gold when we become the winners
Past the winning post bold Skewball drew quite handy
Horse and rider both ordered sherry wine and brandy
And then they drank the health of the gallant Miss Griselda
And all that lost their money on the sporting plains of Kildare
DT #349
Laws Q22
@race @animal
Recorded by Steeleye Span on Ten Man Mop, by Andy Irvine.
Note: The facts are that sometime about 1790 a race took
place on the Curragh of Kildare (near Dublin) between
a skewbald horse owned by Sir Arthur Marvel and "Miss
Portly", a grey mare owned by Sir Ralph Gore. The race
seemed to take the balladmakers' fancy and must have been
widely sung: an early printed version appeared in an American
song book dated 1829 MJ
...and Leadbelly recorded a version a hundred years later. RG
filename[ STWBLHR2
ED
DT version #3
STEWBALL (3)
There's a big day in Dallas,
And I wish I a-was there
Spend my las' hundred dollars
On that iron gray mare
See her travel, all day long, long, long,
See her travel all day long,
All day long.
Well I don't mind horse racing
If it wasn't for my wife.
Old Stewball may stumble
And away with my life
Wife and baby, left behind, yeah yeah
WIfe and baby, left behind
Left behind.
Old stewball was a black horsw
Jus' as slick as a mole,
Had a ring 'round his fore-shoulder
And it shined just like gold.
Shined like gold, shined like gold, Lord, Lord
Shined like gold, shined like gold
Shined like gold.
Old Stewball was a racehorse,
But the poor horse was blind.
He ran so fast in Texas
Left his shadow behind
Behind, behind
Left his shadow behind
Left behind.
Old Stewball was a racehorse
And old Molly, she was too.
Old Molly, she stumbled
And Old Stewball, he just flew.
Round the track, round the track, yeah, yeah
Round the track, round the track
Round the track.
DT #349
Laws Q22
As sung by Memphis Slim
@animal @horse @race
filename[ STWBLHR3
TUNE FILE: STWBLHR3
CLICK TO PLAY
RG
oct96
DT version #4
SKEWBALL (4)
Come, gentlemen sportsmen, I pray listen well,
I will sing you a song in praise of Skew Ball;
And how he came over, you shall understand,
It was by Squire Mervin, the pearl of the land.
And of his late actions as you've heard before,
He was lately challang'd by one Sir Ralph Gore,
For five hundred pounds, on the plains of Kildare,
To run with Miss Sportly, that famous grey mare.
Skew Ball then hearing the wager was laid,
Unto his kind master said -- Don't be afraid;
For if on my side you thousands lay would,
I would rig on your castle a fine mass of gold!
The day being come, and the cattle walk'd forth,
The people came flocking from East, South, and North,
For to view all the sporters, as I do declare,
And venture their money all on the grey mare.
Squire Mervin then, smiling, unto them did say,
Come, gentlemen, all that have money to lay;
And you that have hundreds I will lay you all,
For I'll venture thousands on famous Skew Ball.
Squire Mervin then smiling, unto them did say,
Come gentleman sportsmen, to morrow's the day,
Spurs, horses, and saddles and bridles prepare,
For you must away to the plains of Kildare.
The day being come, and the cattle walk'd out,
Squire Mervin order'd his rider to mount,
And all the spectators to clear the way,
The time being come not one moment delay.
The cattle being mounted away they did fly,
Skew Ball like an arrow pass'd Miss Sportly by;
The people went up to see them go round,
They said in their hearts they ne'er touch'd the ground.
But as they were running in the midst of the sport,
Squire Mervin to his rider began his discourse;
O! loving kind rider, come tell unto me,
How far at the moment Miss Sportly's from thee;
O! loving kind master, you bear a great style,
The grey mare's behind you a long English mile,
If the saddle maintains me, I'll warrant you there,
You ne'er shall be beat on the plains of Kildare.
But as they were running by the distant chair,
The gentlemen cry'd out -- Skew Ball never fear,
Altho' in this country thou was't ne'er seen before,
Thou has beaten Miss Sportly, and broke Sir Ralph Gore.
This is an Irish song, with several traditional versions
known, but the only traditional Irish version I've seen, text and
tune, is in the relatively recent book by Hugh Shields, Old Dublin Songs.
Shields in his notes mentions no other copy of
the song or tune. There is a copy of the song in P. Buchan's MSS
in the British Library.
Original tune is a puzzle; one old copy says tune is "Money
makes the mare to go". Is this a poke of fun, or real? In the
17th century "Money makes the mare to go" was sung to "She got
money by th' bargain", which we give later here as SHAMBUY2.
"Money will make the mare to go" is the occasional title of the
catch that commences "Wilt thou lend me thy mare to go a mile?",
but the catch tune doesn't seem to fit this.
From <>, London: John Souter, 1818. The song
is without music or tune direction.
DT #349
Laws Q22
@horse @animal @race
filename[ STWBLHR4
WBO
APR99
DT version #5
SCEW BALL (STEWBALL)
Come gentlemen sportsmen I pray listen all,
I will sing you a song in praise of Scew Ball(1),
And how he came over you shall understand,
It was by Squire Merwin the pearl of our land.
And of his late actions that I've heard before,
He was lately challeng'd by one Sir Ralph Gore,
For five hundred guineas on the plains of Kildare,
To run with Miss Sportly, that charming grey mare.
Scew Ball he then hearing the wager was laid,
Unto his kind master said, don't be afraid,
For if on my side you thousands lay would,
I will rig in your castle a fine mass of gold.
The day being come, and the cattle(2) walk'd forth,
The people came flocking from East, North, and South(3),
For to view all the sporters, as I do declare,
And venture their money all on the grey mare.
Squire Mirwin then smiling unto them did say,
Come gentlemen all that's got money to lay,
And you that have hundreds, come I'll lay you all,
For I will venture thousands on famous Scew Ball.
The day being come, and the cattle walk'd out,
Squire Mirwin he order'd his rider to mount,
And all the spectators for to clear the way,
The time being come, not one moment delay.
These cattle were mounted, and away they did fly,
Scew ball like an arrow past Miss Sportly by,
The people went up for to see them go round,
They said in their hearts that they ne'er touch'd the ground.
But as they were running, in the midst of the sport,
Squire Mirwin to his rider(4) began this discourse,
O loving kind rider come tell unto me,
How far is Miss Sportly this moment from me?
O loving kind master you bear a great stile,
The grey mare's behind me a long English mile,
If the saddle maintains, I'll warrant you there,
You ne'er will be beat on the plains of Kildare(5).
But as they were running by the distance chair,
The gentlemen cry'd out, Scew Ball never fear,
Altho' in this country thou was ne'er seen before,
Thou has beaten Miss Sportly, and broke Sir Ralph Gore.
-----
>From a broadside in the Madden Collection, now in the University Library in Cam
bridge; reprinted in "Later English Broadside Ballads", ed. Holloway & Black, 19
75. Believed to be eighteenth or early nineteenth century because, although und
ated, it does not show the font and style changes which were typical of the earl
y nineteenth century printing of broadsides. The ballad is Irish, although this
version is from a London printing, sold at 42, Long Lane.
1. Scew Ball - skewbald (c.f. piebald)
2. cattle - horses
3. presumably should be "South and North" for the rhyme.
4. "rider" appears to mean "mount" in this stanza.
5. The races on the plain of Kildare were a great gathering-place
for people from all over Ireland.
Note from STEWBALL 3:
The facts are that sometime around 1790 a race took place on
the curragh of Kildare (near Dublin) between a skewbald horse
owned by Sir Arthur Marvel and "Miss Portly", a gray mare owned
by Sir Ralph Gore. The race seemed to take the balladmakers'
fancies, and must have been widely sung; an early printed version
appeared in an American song book dated 1829. MJ
If MJ's notes are correct, it is interesting that this version gets the winner's
name wrong! One also wonders about the name of the grey mare. "Miss Sportly"
seems more likely than "Miss Portly", but one never knows. DAD
@horse @animal @race
DT #349
Laws Q22
filename[ STWBLHR5
DAD
apr00
And the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:
Skewball [Laws Q22]
DESCRIPTION: (Skewball) and one or more other horses run a race; the crowd favors another animal. (Half way through the course), Skewball tells his rider he will win. He pushes on to victory (and drinks a toast with his rider)
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1784 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B25)
KEYWORDS: horse racing promise
FOUND IN: US(MA,MW,NE,SE,SO) Britain(England)
REFERENCES (15 citations):
Laws Q22, "Skewball"
BrownII 136, "Skew Ball" (2 fragments)
BrownSchinhanIV 136, "Skew Ball" (1 excerpt, 1 tune)
Boswell/Wolfe 51, pp. 88-89, "Skewball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peters, p. 253, "The Noble Skew Bald" (1 text, 1 tune)
Thompson-Pioneer 34, "Skewball" (1 text)
Flanders-NewGreen, pp. 172-174, "The Noble Sku-ball" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Lomax-ABFS, pp. 68-70, "Stewball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Scarborough-NegroFS, pp. 62-64, "The Noble Skewball" (1 partial text plus a British version in a footnote, 1 tune)
Jackson-DeadMan, pp. 102-110, "Stewball" (4 texts, 1 tune, linked to this by the horse's name Stewball though the versions often seem to pick up pieces of other racing songs, notably "Molly and Tenbrooks" [Laws H27])
Darling-NAS, pp. 151-152, "Stewball" (1 text)
Fife-Cowboy/West 8, "Squeball" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Silber-FSWB, p. 395, "Stewball" (1 text)
DT 349, STWBLHOR STWBLHR2
ADDITIONAL: Moses Asch and Alan Lomax, Editors, _The Leadbelly Songbook_, Oak, 1962, p. 72, "Stewball" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #456
RECORDINGS:
"Bowlegs" [no other name given], "Stewball" (AFS 1863 B4, 1933)
Harold B. Hazelhurst, "Stewboy" (AFS 3143 B3, 1939)
Harry Jackson, "Old Blue Was a Gray Horse" (on HJackson1)
Ed Lewis & prisoners, "Stewball" (on LomaxCD1703)
A. L. Lloyd, "Skewball" (on Lloyd3, Lloyd6)
Memphis Slim & Willie Dixon, "Stewball" (on ClassAfrAm)
Pete Seeger, "Stewball" (on PeteSeeger43)
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 999[some lines illegible], "Skew Ball" ("Come gentlemen sportsmen I pray listen all"), J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 11(3533), Harding B 15(289a), Harding B 15(289b), Harding B 15(290a), Firth c.19(78), Firth c.19(79), Harding B 11(73), Firth b.26(236), "Skew Ball"; Harding B 28(274), Harding B 25(1784), Harding B 25(1785), Harding B 6(54), G.A. Gen. top. b.29(24/2) [some words illegible] "Skewball"; Firth b.25(297), Johnson Ballads 1406, 2806 c.18(282), Firth c.26(51), "Scew Ball"
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Molly and Tenbrooks" [Laws H27] (plot)
cf. "Little Dun Dee" (plot)
NOTES: This seems to have given rise to a work song fragment, "Old Skubald"; see Darling-NAS, p. 325. - RBW
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