The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #166828   Message #4015221
Posted By: Bonnie Shaljean
24-Oct-19 - 02:43 PM
Thread Name: British supernatural folk-songs...?
Subject: RE: British supernatural folk-songs...?
The Holland Handkerchief is a brilliant other-worldly ballad, which I remember Packie* singing. He wrote out the words for me in his beautiful handwriting, and I have them in a file box somewhere in this barn of a house. (This was in the pre-computer/word processor days, so they never got Typed Up For Posterity.) I loved the air too, suitably minor-key and brooding.

Anyway, the words are on this excellent website, and his version is the one Norma Waterson sings (scroll down, bottom left). In fact, I think he was the one who gave it to them, many years ago. Link is:

https://mainlynorfolk.info/watersons/songs/thehollandhandkerchief.html

And - if Ireland can be included - there's always She Moved Through The Fair, though it probably doesn't qualify as traditional because some of the words are said to have been written by Padraic Colum, a County Longford poet who is still in copyright. There's disagreement about the extent of his input, covered in more detail on Wiki. He apparently composed/collected it in Donegal, Packie's home county.

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* Packie Manus Byrne, for anyone who doesn't already know.