Origins: Little Ball of Yarn

Subject: Lyrics wanted - Little ball of yarn + chorus
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 04:13 AM

Yeah, I know it's on the DT, but I'm after a version with this chorus:

Oh, the blackbird and the thrush
Sing it out from every bush:
"Keep your hand upon your little ball of yarn!"
[repeat the whole lot]

Ta, Steve

Subject: RE: Lyrics wanted - Little ball of yarn + chorus
From: Barry Finn
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:15 PM

Search the DT's database (upper right hand coner of this screen) by entering in square [ ] brackets the phrase ball of yarn & you'll have 3 versions jump at ya. Barry

Subject: RE: Lyrics wanted - Little ball of yarn + chorus
From: Kernow John
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 02:49 PM

Steve
I think I have the version you want by the Yetties. I'll post it later.
regards Baz

Subject: Lyr/Chords/Tune Add: LITTLE BALL OF YARN
From: Kernow John
Date: 19 Mar 99 - 03:50 PM

In the [C]merry month of May on a [F]bright and sunny [Dm]day,
I was [G]strolling round my old grandfathers [C]farm,
When I spied a pretty maid and [F]unto her I [Dm]said,
"Let me [G]wind up your little ball of [C]yarn."

(Chorus)
Oh, the blackbird and the thrush, they sing [F]out from ev'ry [Dm]bush,
Keep your [G]hand upon your little ball of [C]yarn.
Oh the blackbird and the thrush, they sing [F]out from ev'ry [Dm]bush,
Keep your [G]hand upon your little ball of [C]yarn.

"Oh no kind sir,"said she, "for a stranger you must be,
And you might have some other little charm."
But I said, "my little love, come and be my turtle dove,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn."

Now that maid rose with a blush, and ran off in such a rush,
To tell the other girls of all the fun.
Me not wishing to be seen, I slipped off across the green,
After winding up her little ball of yarn.

Now twelve months had passed away, and I chanced to be that way,
And I found her with a baby on her arm.
I said "my little miss, oh, you never thought of this,
When I wound up your little ball of yarn."

So now my pretty maid, take a warning from the shade,
And never rise too early in the morn.
And like the blackbird in the bush, keeps on singing to the thrush,
Keep your hand on your little ball of yarn.


X: 1
T:Ball of Yarn
M:C
L:1/4
K:C
GF|ECEG|c2Bc|dcBc|D2BA|
GGB3/2A/|GGFD|E4-|E2GF|ECE/G3/2|
c3c|dcBc|D2BA|G2B3?2A/|GGFD|C4-|C2||
G3/2F/|ECEG|C2Bc|D2BA|
GGBA|GGFD|E4-E2|G3/2F/|ECEG|c2Bc|
dcBc|D2B3/2A/|GGBA|G/G3/2FD|C4-|C2||

% Output from ABC2Win Version 2.1 h on 3/19/99

Regards Baz

Subject: Lyr Add: LITTLE BALL OF YARN
From: Roddy
Date: 20 Mar 99 - 09:49 PM

LITTLE BALL OF YARN

In the merry Month of May by the banks of Killyleagh,
When the goose-gabs and the nettles were in bloom,
I a-spied a fair young maid and unto her I said,
"Would you let me roul' your little ball of yarn?"

"Oh, no, kind Sir," says she. "You're a stranger unto me,
And besides, I have no other charms;
So, get home to Hell to those who have money and fine clothes
And will let you roul' theit little ball of yarn."

So I set that maiden down, laid her gently on the groun',
Not intendin' for to do her any harm;
Then I whispered in her ear, "You're my ducky, you're my dear."
And she let me roul' her little ball of yarn.

Well, now a year has passed, and I met that maid, alas!
She had a darlin' babby on each knee.
"Ah, now then, pretty miss, did you ever think of this
When you let me roul' your little ball of yarn?"

"Come all you maidens young and free, hear my story, list to me,
And don't be taken in by young men's charms!
Be like the blackbird and the thrush and keep one hand well roun' your brush,
And the other on your little ball of yarn!"

Never ceases to raise a laugh at concerts.
Roddy

Subject: RE: Lyrics wanted - Little ball of yarn + chorus
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 22 Mar 99 - 03:40 AM

Baz, Roddy - thanks! I'll have to learn both versions and do 'em on alternate nights!

Steve

Subject: RE: Lyrics wanted - Little ball of yarn + chorus
From: GUEST,Jerry Elsmore
Date: 15 Apr 00 - 06:29 PM

I can rememner singing a version with that chorus in the Butley Oster near Ipswich in the late seventies / early eighties. I think John Goodluck recorded it, afraid I can't recall the name of the old Suffolk singer in the pub, but he was a guest at the Norwich Folk Festivals. The verses were very similar to Version 1.

Subject: Lyr/Tune Add: LITTLE BALL OF YARN (trad. Suffolk)
From: Snuffy
Date: 17 Apr 00 - 06:54 PM

Here's another version from Suffolk, with no chorus.

LITTLE BALL OF YARN

Oh, it was one fine summer's day in the merry month of May,
I was strolling round my dear old father's farm,
When I met a pretty miss and I shyly asked her this
"May I wind up your little ball of yarn?"

"Oh, no-o, Sir" says she, "You're a stranger, I can see
And you might do me some harm."
"Oh no, my turtle dove, you're the only one I love.
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn"

So I took this pretty maid to a spot beneath the shade
Intending not to do her any harm
And to my surprise when I gazed into her eyes,
I was winding up her little ball of yarn

Now a year or two passed by, I'm telling you no lie
I met her with a baby in her arm.
I said "Oh, sweet young miss, oh I never expected this,
When I wound up your little ball of yarn"

Now all you fair young maids, take a lesson from the shades
And don't get up too early in the morning
For the blackbird in the bush keeps on whistling to the thrush,
"Keep your hand on your little ball of yarn."

Here's the abc for it

X: 1
T:Little Ball of Yarn
M:2/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=120
S:Hubert Smith
A:Suffolk
P:A5
N:Recorded at Thorpe Morieux 1983
D:Many a Good Horseman VTVS01/0
K:D
P:A
AA|
FD FA|d2 cd|ed cd|E2 AB|cc|cc BA|(FA3)|z2 AA|
FD FA|d2 cd|ed cd|E2 cB|A2 cB|A
Wassail! V

Subject: Lyr Add: BALL O' YARN (from Oscar Brand)
From: GUEST,Mrr
Date: 18 Apr 00 - 03:34 PM

Speaking of How Many Versions... there is one by Oscar Brand on one of the Bawdy Songs and Backroom Ballads albums, that is different yet:

BALL O' YARN

In the merry month of June, when the roses were in bloom,
I chanced to take a walk about the farm.
There I met a pretty miss and I politely asked her this:
"Would you let me spin your little ball o' yarn?"

CHORUS: Ball o' yarn, ball o' yarn,
Would you let me spin your little ball o' yarn? (bis).

[Note that the chorus repeats the usage of "ball o' yarn" within the verse that it follows.]

Well, she gave me her consent, and behind the fence we went.
I promised her that I would do no harm.
Then I gently laid her down and I ruffled up her gown,
And 'twas then I spun her little ball o' yarn. CHORUS

It was nine months after that in a poolroom where I sat,
I felt a heavy hand laid on my arm
And a gentleman in blue said, "Young man, we're after you!
You're the father of a little ball o' yarn." CHORUS

In my prison cell I sit with my bathrobe in the shade,
And the shadow of my nose upon the wall;
And the women as they pass thrust their hatpins up my coat,
And the little mice play hopscotch with my shoes.
(Cho - use last line from prior verse).

My fave is that last para with absolutely no rhymes...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Stewart
Date: 09 Dec 10 - 09:56 PM

Here's a delightful version (similar to the previous post) from the late Walt Roberstson singing this song at an informal session on a Sunday morning at the breakfast table of a home on the Hood Canal, WA, 1983. From the audio archives of Bob (Deckman) Nelson

Little Ball of Yarn - sung by Walt Robertson

Cheers, S. in Seattle

Subject: add: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 10 Dec 10 - 03:58 PM

LITTLE BALL OF YARN
East Riding version

On the twenty-first of May I was walking out that way,
On the way to me old grandfather's farm,
When I spied a pretty maid and unto her I said,
Can I wind up your little ball of yarn?

Oh sir she said to me, you're a stranger I can see,
But I will grant you any other charm,
Then I took her by surprise and I slipped between her thighs
And I wound up her little ball of yarn.

Now a twelvemonth on that day I was walking out that way,
When I spied her with a baby on her arm,
I said to her now miss, well I didn't think on this
When I wound up your little ball of yarn.

Now a few days after that in my parlour where I sat,
I saw a shadow coming past the barn,
And a policeman with his truncheon quite disturbed my Sunday luncheon,
I was father of a little ball of yarn.

So come all you pretty maids that go beneath the shade,
I will tell you of the beauties of the palm,
Where the blackbird and the thrush they sing out from every bush,
Keep your hand upon your little ball of yarn.

I seem to remember Bob Roberts singing a version with that repeat chorus.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST,JJ on his jollies
Date: 10 Dec 10 - 05:49 PM

Our very own Bernard sings a version of this sing, and very good it is too.

Perhaps he could comment......Bernard?......where's that man when you need him?!

JJ

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 10 Dec 10 - 07:49 PM

Robertson's version is not only the most elaborate I've encountered, it's the only one where the "ball of yarn" is masculine equipment: "I rolled *out* that little ball of yarn."

His version of "Five Night's Drunk" goes (unusually) to the tune of "Castles in the Air"/ "The Ball o' Kirriemuir."

Nice performances.

Subject: Lyr Add: THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN (trad. Ozarks)
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 09:09 AM

From Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore: Roll Me in Your Arms, Vol. 1 by Vance Randolph (Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 1992), page 97:

(This song appears with musical notation for the melody line.)


THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN

It was in the month of May an' the jacks begin to bray,
An' the jinnies begin to hover 'round the barn,
An' I met a little maid an' unto her I said,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn.

Oh, no siree, said she, you're a stranger unto me,
Perhaps you may have some other charm,
But you'd better to to those who have money an' fine clothes,
An' wind up their little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
An' wind up their little ball of yarn.

Well, I took her 'round the waist an' I gently laid her down,
Not thinkin' I was doin' any harm,
While the blackbird an' that thrush were a-banging in the brush,
I wound up her little ball of yarn, yarn, yarn,
I wound up her little ball of yarn.

Subject: Lyr Add: WINDING UP HER LITTLE BALL OF YARN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 09:31 AM

Could this rather innocent song be the ancestor of the double-entendre versions?

From the sheet music at The Library of Congress:


WINDING UP HER LITTLE BALL OF YARN.
Words, Earl Marble. Music, Polly Holmes.
Boston: White, Smith & Co., 1884.

1. It was many years ago,
With my youthful blood aglow,
I engaged to teach a simple district school.
I reviewed each college book,
And my city home forsook,
Sure that I could make a wise man from a fool.
Mr. School Committee Frye
Thought 'twould do no harm to try
To see if unruly scholars I could "larn;"
When his daughter I espied,
With her knitting by her side,
As she wound up her little ball of yarn.

2. I was gone on her at once,
For I wasn't quite a dunce,
And she was an apple-dumpling sort of girl.
With her tender eyes of blue,
Dimpled cheeks of rosy hue,
And her teeth as bright as shining rows of pearl.
Long before the school was done,
I the maid had wooed and won,
As we hunted eggs one morning in the barn.
When her work she laid aside,
Just to please me as I sighed,
And she wound up her little ball of yarn.

3. Oh, those times were long ago,
And my blood has not the flow
That it had in those sweet days of auld lang syne,
But I think of every charm
That endeared me to the farm
When the maid with all her knitting work was mine.
And as round the fire we sit
In these days when shadows flit,
And her trembling hands the stockings take to darn,
In my memory I live o'er
All those happy days of yore,
When she wound up her little ball of yarn.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 09:48 AM

Dick Miles used to sing that song, he recorded it on the album The Dunmow Flitch with an interesting clarinet accompaniment.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 13 Dec 10 - 07:22 PM

Brilliant! So our bawdy English song is highly likely a parody of this, as with so many other bawdy songs being parodies of popular songs. Thanks for posting it, Jim.

Subject: RE: Mudcat Worldwide Singaround - On Zoom TODAY!!!
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Feb 21 - 12:02 PM

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Ball of Yarn

DESCRIPTION: The narrator asks a pretty little miss "to wind her ball of yarn." He contracts gonorrhea, then is arrested nine months later, and sentenced to the penitentiary, all for "winding up that little ball of yarn."
AUTHOR: Unknown; parody of "Winding Up Her Little Ball of Yarn" (words: Earl Marble; tune: Polly Holmes)
EARLIEST DATE: 1890; original song copyrighted 1884
KEYWORDS: bawdy disease pregnancy sex punishment prison parody
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North,West)) Ireland US(MA,MW,Ro,So,SW)
REFERENCES (14 citations):
Cray-EroticMuse, pp. 89-95, "Ball of Yarn" (3 texts, 1 tune)
Randolph/Legman-RollMeInYourArms I, pp. 97-104, "Little Ball of Yarn" (10 texts, 3 tunes)
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, pp. 533-534, "The Little Ball O' Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune) [AbrEd, pp. 385-386]
Kennedy-FolksongsOfBritainAndIreland 180, "The Little Ball of Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gardham-EastRidingSongster 26, "The Little Ball of Yarn" (2 texts, 1 tune)
Roud/Bishop-NewPenguinBookOfEnglishFolkSongs #76, "The Ball of Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Henry-SongsSungInTheSouthernAppalachians, p. 249, "And She Skipped Across the Green" (1 fragment)
Bronner/Eskin-FolksongAlivePart2 64, "Little Ball of Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Peters-FolkSongsOutOfWisconsin, p. 266, "The Little Ball of Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Newman/Devlin-NeverWithoutASong, pp. 198-199, "Little Ball of Yarn" (1 text, 1 tune)
Gilbert-LostChords, pp. 74-75, "Little Ball of Yarn" (1 partial text)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 155, "Little Ball of Yarn" (1 text)
Morgan/Green-RugbySongs, p. 47, "I'm a Gentleman of Leisure, of Nobility and Pleasure" (1 text)
DT, BALLYARN* BALLYAR2* BALLYAR3
Roud #1404
RECORDINGS:
Mary Ann Haynes, "The Little Ball of Yarn" (on Voice20)
New Lost City Ramblers, "Little Ball of Yarn" (on NLCR14)
Southern Melody Boys, "Wind the Little Ball of Yarn" (Bluebird B-7057/Montgomery Ward 7227, 1937) [Note: Not having heard this record, I don't know whether it's the parody or the original. - PJS]
Nora Cleary, "Little Ball of Yarn" (on IRClare01)
Unidentified woman, Mena, Ark., "Little Ball of Yarn" (LC AAFS 3236 A1, 1936)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Fire Ship" (plot) and references there
cf. "Blackbirds and Thrushes (I)"
NOTES [328 words]: Randolph/Legman-RollMeInYourArms has extensive notes on the history of this ballad, tracing it to Burns's "Yellow, Yellow Yorlin." - EC
It should be noted, however, that Cray-EroticMuse's tune does not match the versions of "Yellow, Yellow Yorlin," and while there are lyrical similarities, the metrical pattern is also slightly different. Roud/Bishop questions how the transformation from a bird (the yorlin, or yorling, is a Scots name for the yellowhammer) to a ball of yarn could have happened in tradition. Their suggestion is that "Ball of Yarn" is a combination of elements from the Burns song and a Victorian piece, "Winding Up Her Little Ball of Yarn." - RBW
The song of which this is almost certainly a parody can be found [in the Library of Congress online collection]. - PJS
And said song is pretty bad; it begins
It was many years ago,
With my youthful blood aglow,
I engaged to teach a simple district school.
I reviewed each college book,
And my city home forsook,
Sure that I could make a wise man from a fool.
Mister School Committee Frye thought 'twould do no harm to try,
To see if unruly scholars I could l'arn.
When his daughter I espied, with her knitting by her side,
As she wound up her little ball of yarn.
The singer wooed and won the girl in short order, and now that he is old, he remembers the good old days every time he sees her darning socks!
Steve Gardham has another suggestion, which is that both this and "Yellow Yorlin" trace back to an arty song, "The Golden Skein," which somehow survived in the tradition of the Beers Family. - RBW
A broadside id for a Library of Congress reference is LOCSheet, sm1884 20995, "Winding Up her Little Ball of Yarn," White, Smith & Co. (Boston), 1884 (tune); the sheet music attributes the words to Earl Marble and the music to Miss Polly Holmes.
Mary Ann Haynes version on Voice20 lacks the gonorrhea and arrest touches; the girl has a baby and warns other young girls to "never trust a farmer." - BS
Last updated in version 6.7
File: EM089

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Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 09:07 PM

The Little Ball of Yarn - Glenn Ohrlin

I was walking in the country
On a sunny, summer day
Never dreaming I was doing any harm
When I spied a little miss
And I simply asked her this:
Can I wind up your little ball of yarn?

She gave me her consent
So behind the barn we went
Never dreaming of doing any harm
Oh she laid upon the ground
And I ruffled up her gown
And I wound up her little ball of yarn.

It was nine month after that
In the pool room I sat
Never dreaming that I did her any harm
When a cop all dressed in blue
Said, my boy, I'm after you
Just for winding up her little ball of yarn.

In the courtroom I sat
Right there upon my pratt
Never dreaming that I did her any harm
And the judge he said it's true
It's the 'lectric chair for you.
Just for winding up her little ball of yarn.

In the prison sell I sit
With my finger in my shit
Never dreaming that I did her any harm.
And the people as they pass
They shove peanuts up my ass
Just for winding up her little ball of yarn.

In the 'lectric chair I sat
Right there upon my pratt
Never dreaming that I did her any harm.
When the man behind the glass
Shot the juice right up my ass
Just for winding up her little ball of yarn.

Oh now I'm down in hell
In a hot and grimy cell
Never dreaming that I did her any harm.
Oh, they wrap my ass in wire
And they threw me in the fire
Just for winding up her little ball of yarn.

Transcribed from the 1981 LP Just Something My Uncle Told Me.

Listen online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDYE4mQB2MY&t=1269s

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 09:24 PM

The Little Ball of Yarn

One fine day in May I took a walk one day
It’s doon [laughs] by my grandfather’s farm.
I met a pretty maid an this is what I said,
“May I wind up your little ball of yarn?”

Now I took this pretty maid underneath the shade
Not intendin for to do her any harm. [Spoken aside: “That’s half!”]
I took her by surprise and I laid between her thighs
And I winded up her little ball of yarn.

This pretty maid she raise and she pulled up her claes
And it’s straight tae her grandma she did rin,
But for me, I was never seen as I skipped across the green
After windin up her little ball of yarn.

Come aa you young men, never stop out after ten
Not intendin for to do any harm,
For as soon as they lie doon you’ve got tae pay yer sweet half-croon
For the windin o the little ball of yarn.

Come aa you young maids, tak a warnin to what I’ve said,
Never rise up too early in the morn,
For like the blackbird and the thrush, there’ll be someone behind the bush
That will wind up your little ball of yarn.

Transcribed from a recording was made in August 1988 at a house in
St. Andrews, Fife, that John Niles and his research team were renting
at that time. Elizebeth had her version from her mother Jean and
aunt Lucy whose version was collected by American folklorist
Kenneth Goldstein from the family in 1959 and which he included in
his Buchan Bawdry manuscript.

Listen online here: https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/APHLSLUQOGPA3O8W

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 09:37 PM

BALL OF YARN

In the merry month of June, when the roses were in bloom,
The birds were singing gayly on the farm;
When I spied a pretty miss and politely asked her this:
"Will you let me spin your little ball of yarn?"

CHORUS--

Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
Will you let me spin your little ball of yarn?
Ball of yarn, ball of yarn
Will you let me spin your little ball of yarn?

Well then she gave her consent and behind the fence we went;
I promised her that I would do no harm.
Then I gently laid her down and I ruffled up her gown;
It was then I spun her little ball of yarn.

Chorus:

It was nine days after that, in a doctor's chair I sat,
Never thinking she had dome me any harm;
When a little man in white, said: "Your cock's an awful sight,
You've been winding up that little ball of yarn."

Chorus:

It was nine months after that, in a pool room where I sat,
Never thinking I had done her any harm.
When a gentleman in blue said, "Young man, we're after you,
You're the father of a little ball of yarn".

Chorus:

So in my prison cell I sit with my bathrobe in the shade,
And the shadow of my nose upon the walls;
And the women as they pass, thrust their hatpins up my coat,
And the little mice play hopscotch with my shoes.

Chorus:

You men heed my advice: never stay out late at night,
And you'll never lose your virgin or your charm.
Be like the bluebird and the robin, keep your little "a' from bobbing,
And you'll never spin that little ball of yarn

Final chorus.

May, 1958. Songs of Raunch and Ill-Repute: A Collection of Songs for Beer Parties, Stags, and Church Youth Groups. Pg. 4.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Thomas Stern
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 09:46 PM

https://mainlynorfolk.info/martin.carthy/songs/theballofyarn.html

I recall Harry & Jeanie West singing it, do not think they
recorded it?????

Thomas.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 10:07 PM

The Yellow Yellow Yorlin

It fell on a day, in the flowery month of May
All on a merry merry morning
I met a pretty maid, and unto her I said
I wad fain find your yellow yellow yorlin
Fain find your yellow yellow yorlin

O no, young man, says she, you're a stranger to me
And I am another man's darling
Wha haes both sheep and cows, that’s feeding in the hows
An a cock for my yellow yellow yorlin
A cock for my yellow yellow yorlin

But if I lay you down, upon the dewy ground
You would not be the worse a farthing
And that happy happy man, he never could ken
That I played with your yellow yellow yorlin
Played with your yellow yellow yorlin

O fie, young man, says she, I pray you let me be
I would not for five pound sterling
My mother would go mad, and so would my dad
If you played with my yellow yellow yorlin
Played with my yellow yellow yorlin

But I took her by the waist, and laid her down in haste,
For all her squeaking and squalling
The lassie soon grew tame, and bade me come again
For to play with her yellow yellow yorlin
To play with her yellow yellow yorlin

A de-Scotts version from the undated [1970] LP, The Earthy Side
by The Movement to Preserve Scatological & Prurient Material in Its
Original Form [Win Stracke and members of the Norman Luboff Choir].

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1eS0GeRj6Q&t=581s

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 10:22 PM

I'm A Gentleman Of Leisure, Of Nobility, And Pleasure

CHORUS: Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
I've a mind to spin
your little ball of yarn,
Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
I've a mind to spin
your little ball of yarn.

I'm a gentleman of leisure, of nobility and pleasure,
With manners of the manor and the morals of the barn,
And when I met a lady in the forest green and shady,
I asked if I could spin her ball of yarn.

She gave her kind consent and behind the bush we went,
And I said: "My dear, there's no cause for alarm."
So I laid her on the ground and with expertise so sound,
I went on to spin her little ball of yarn.

It was nine months after that in my manor where I sat,
I saw a figure coming past the barn,
And a big man with a truncheon quite disturbed my Sunday luncheon,
was father of a little ball of yarn.

1967. Rugby Songs. Michael Green p.47

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 10:30 PM

Little Ball of Yarn
   
It t'was in th month of May
When th lambs would skip and play
And th blackbirds were singing like a charm
And I met a pretty miss
And I said, unto her like this
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn

Why, she said to me, kind sir
Your a stranger I can see
I"m afraid sir, that you will do me harm
And I put my arms around her waist
While I gently laid her down
While th blackbirds were singing like a charm

And, I threw up her underclothes
And pulled out my rubber hose
While th blackbirds were singing like a charm

And, it was shortly after this
When I had to take a piss
Came a pain that would cause me great alarm
And it was to my decepts
When I had a dose of clap
While th blackbirds were singing like a charm

Transcribed from the Max Hunter Collection. Cat. #0311 (MFH #368).
sung by Mr. Al Lindstedt, Eureka Springs, Arkansas on February 11, 1959.

Listen online: https://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=311

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: RTim
Date: 08 Dec 24 - 11:27 PM

Recorded by Martin Carthy.....

The Ball o' Yarn

In the merry month of May
when the birds begin to play
I took a walk quite early in the morning
There I met a pretty maid
she was knitting all of her trade
And I asked her could I wind her ball of yarn

Oh no kind sir she said we are strangers you and I
It's then ye might have any other darling
And besides I've friends in town
they have money all bright in store
And it's there they wind me little ball of yarn

I put my arm around her and I gently laid her down
I meant to do this fair maid no harm
In the middle of the green
where I knew I would be seen
It was there I winded up her ball of yarn

So come all you fair young maidens
and a warning take be me
Don't take your walk so early in the morning
Where the blackbird and the thrush
they are singing all in yon bush
Keep your hand all on your little ball of yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST,jim bainbridge
Date: 11 Dec 24 - 04:21 PM

I have a recording of this song, sung by a young fella called Christy Moore in a pub session in the Victoria hotel bar in Blairgowrie at the third TMSA festival in August 1968

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: The Sandman
Date: 11 Dec 24 - 04:34 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8H9wpMBVtw at Swindon Folk Club, happy days

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Nick Dow
Date: 13 Dec 24 - 04:45 AM

I came to the same parody conclusion, but from a different angle. I was investigating the tune of a Yorkshire version of the song, and found that the tune is the chorus of a 'minstrel' composition 'Nellie Ray', composed in 1865 by American Violin player and 'Minstrel musician' William H. Brockway,(1835 -1888). Another sentimental song crying out for a parody.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Dec 24 - 10:02 AM

Brockway's "Nellie Ray":


https://www.loc.gov/resource/music.musihas-100004301/?st=gallery

The Library of Congress copyright date is "1885" - one year after Marble & Holmes's song.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 13 Dec 24 - 12:06 PM

The parody must have been written promptly. National Police Gazette (NYC), June 18, 1887, among ads for "spicy books," "fancy pictures for gents," etc.:

"Old Time Songs. Boring for Oil, Winding up her Little Ball of Yarn, and 33 others....Box 57, Detroit, Mich."

Similarly, Jan. 6, 1894:

"Winding Up Her Little Ball of Yarn, and Boring for Oil, these two grand old songs sent sealed for 10c. B. DIX, Box 207, Canaan, Conn."

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 16 Dec 24 - 09:17 PM

THE YELLOW YELLOW YORLIN.
TUNE-Bonnie beds of roses.

It fell on a day, in the flow'ry month o May,
All on a merry merry mornin',
I met a pretty maid, an' unto her I said,
I wad fain fin' your yellow yellow yorlin'.
O no, young man, says she, you're a stranger to me,
An' I am anither man's darlin,
Wha has baith sheep an' cows, that's feedin' in the hows,
An' a cock for my yellow yellow yorlin'.
But, if I lay you down upon the dewy ground,
You wad nae be the waur ae farthing;
An' that happy, happy man, he never cou'd ken
That I play'd wi' your yellow yellow yorlin'.
O fie, young man, says she, I pray you let me be,
I wad na for five pound sterling;
My mither wad gae mad, an' sae wad my dad,
If you play'd wi' my yellow yellow yorlin'.
But I took her by the waist, an' laid her down in haste,
For a her squakin' an' squalin';
The lassie soon grew tame, an' bade me come again
For to play wi' her yellow yellow yorlin'.

1799. The Merry Muses of Caledonaia; A Collection of Favourite Scots Songs, Ancient and Modern; Selected for Use of the Crochallan Fencibles. Pgs 47-49.

Digital reissue from the type-facsimile of Legman revised by reference to the G. Ross Roy copy of the 1st edition.

See online here: https://archive.org/details/1799themerrymusesofcaledonia/page/n47/mode/2up?q=yorlin

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 17 Dec 24 - 10:16 PM

Wind the Little Ball of Yarn

It's in the month of May
When the lambs skip and play
And the little birds are singing all along.
It's there I met a maid and it's to her I said,
Let's wind up our little ball of yarn.

It's, "Oh no, kind sir, you're a stranger to me
Perhaps you have some other charms
I'd better go with those who have money and fine clothes
Than wind up my little ball of yarn."

I took her by the waist
And I gently sit her down
Not meaning to do her any harm
It's when the blackbirds rush and appear beneath the bush
We'll wind up her little ball of yarn.

It was in the month of June
In twilight of the moon
I'll be way out on the farm
And you will weep as you go to sleep
For winding up your little ball of yarn.

We were walking through the rye
When you were stepping high
And you said you were not having charms
But the rye I'm going to reap, then you will surely weep
For winding up your little ball of yarn.

We were on the lonesome pine
Where you said you'd never be mine
And you said you would not have any charms
But you'll surely cry when I bid you goodbye
Oh winding up your little ball of yarn.

1937. Transcription of The Southern Melody Boys on Blue Bird B-7057-B 78 record.

Listen online here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH-Xy-G9r4o

Note the broken rhyme in the 3rd verse. Instead of "I took her by
the waist, And I gently sit her down" the unexpurgated version would
be "I took her by the waist, and laid her down in haste".
If this is the original rhyme, it would match the "Yellow Yellow
Yorlin"exactly.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 17 Dec 24 - 10:43 PM

Little Ball of Yarn

It was in the month of May
When the birds did skip and play
And the black birds were singing like a charm.
It was here I met this miss
Said I'm glad of this,
Can't I wind up your little ball of yarn?

"Kind sir," she said to me,
"Oh a stranger I can see.
Perhaps you will do me a lot of harm.
Why don't you go to those
Who have money and fine clothes,
And wind up their little ball of yarn?”

So he grabbed me round the waist
And he gently laid me down
And the blackbirds were singing like a charm.
I pulled up my clothes
And he pulled out his long hose
And he wound up my little ball of yarn.

So quickly I arose
From my waist pulled down my clothes,
And the blackbirds were singing like a charm.
Feared that I'd been seen,
I skipped across the green
After winding up my little ball of yarn.

Now come all you pretty maids
Who dwell beneath the glades
And rise up so early in the morn,
Be like the catbird and the thrush,
Keep your head beneath the brush
And both hands on your little ball of yarn.

For it was shortly after this
That I went out to piss
And found a pain that caused me quite alarm.
I found to my mishap
He gave to me a dose of clap
After winding up my little ball of yarn.

July 27, 1941. As sung by Emery De Noyer. Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Transcription and lyrics from the Helene Stratman-Thomas Collection.

See online here: https://asset.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/6RSN3U54BT5JI84/R/file-c5d5e.pdf

I have saved a copy of audio recording but cant find the online link to share. Any one interested in a copy of the recording can message me.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 09:45 AM

Little Ball of Yarn

It was in the month of May
When the lambs do skip and play
And the birds sing sweet lip to my charm
That I met a fair maid and to her I did said
May I wind up your little ball of yarn?

Oh no, no said she
You're a stranger to me
And perhaps you would have another's charm
You will have to look to those
Who have money and fine clothes
For to wind up the little ball of yarn.

So I caught her round the waist
And so gently laid her down
For I did not mean to do her any harm
Then she gazed up in my face
And locked both legs around my waist
While I wound up her little ball of yarn.

For then she jumped up
Took her skirt up round her waist
And skipped so lightly down the lane
Then I skipped across the green
For fear I had been seen
For I wound up her little ball of yarn.

So all you fair maids
Keep your head beneath the shade
Do not walk out so early in the morn
Like a black bird keep
Your head beneath your wing
And your hand on your little ball of yarn.

Recorded 1966, issued 1973 on the Remembrance Of Things To Come LP
on Folkway Records. Transcribed from the singing of The New Lost
City Ramblers [Mike Seeger, Tracy Schwarz and John Cohen]


From the album notes:

Learned from a recording of an 80-year old woman in Mena, Ark.,
recorded by Sidney Robertson, 1936. (AAFS 3236 A1)

This singer had a very wide repertoire of songs, and
I understand that she would sing this one only for
female company. It struck me that the song, textually
and melodically, would fit well into the Kelly Harrell-
Charlie Poole mountain chamber music style. It was
also recorded in a less direct non-narrative for by the
Southern Melody Boys for Bluebird in the 1930's. (M.S.)

Mike: voice and guitar; Tracy: fiddle; John: 5 string banjo

Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqg7EhPlKj8

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 12:15 PM

SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN SONG.

In the merry month of May,
When the dogs begin to play,
And the roosters chase the hens around the barn,
Says the jenny to the jack,
"Climb onto my back,
And we'll wind up that little ball of yarn."

Oh, I went down into the town,
And started lookin' round,
And I seen a gal that made my balls to yearn,
So I says "Come with me,
And we'll lie 'neath yonder tree,
And we'll wind up that little ball of yarn."

ca 1926. The Hubert L. Canfield Collection, page 203 of the scanned MSS.

This is a superlative bawdy songs and poem collection collected by
Hubert L. Canfield, Pittsford, New York. Dated 1925-1926, this
extensive collection is comparable to Gordon "Inferno" Collection
at the Library of Congress.

See online here:

https://archive.org/details/1926canfieldcollection/page/48/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 02:17 PM

738

I placed my arms around her waist,
And gently laid her down;
Not meaning to do her any harm;
But the blackbird and the thrush
Hid their heads behind the brush,
As I would up her little ball of yarn

"song sung by a man on the scaffold as he was about to be hanged for a certain unmentionable crime."

Lee Gotcher

May 10, 1924. MS# 738; 3; Lee Gotcher, Amos California. The Gordon Inferno Collection (1917-1929).

See online here: https://archive.org/details/1917gordoninfernocollection/page/n95/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 02:34 PM

LITTLE BALL OF YARN

It was in the month of May, when the lambs did skip and play
That I met a pretty fair maid, and thus to her did say,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn

Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn

Oh no kind sir said she you are stranger unto me
And perhaps you have some other charm.
And I'd rather go with those, who have money and fine clothes
To wind up my little ball of yarn

Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
And I'd rather go with those &c.

I took her by the waist and gently laid her down
Not intending to do her any harm
And the mocking bird and thrush was singing in the bush
While I wound up her little ball of yarn.

Ball of yarn, ball of yarn,
While I wound up, &c.

She jumped up from the green and pulled her clothing down
And home unto her mother she did run.
And I skinned off from the green, for fear of being seen
For I had wound up her little ball of yarn.

December 21, 1929. Davids MSS, pg 20. Written down
by R.M. Davids, Cross X Ranch, Woodmere, Florida,
c. 1924. Sent in to R.W.Gordon by J.C. Colcoro[...]
Found in the Gordon Inferno Collection.


See online here: https://archive.org/details/1917gordoninfernocollection/page/n26/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 02:45 PM

"Winding Up Her Little Ball of Yarn" was recorded by John A Logmax
from cowboys 1906-1910 in Texas and Oklahoma with cylinder
recordings. Probably our song. Also includes the "Erie canal song".
Call # AFC 1940/022 . Preservation tape reels RWA 3318-3319.
Washington, D.C. Library of Congress, 198u. 2 sound tape reels ;
analog, 7 1/2 ips, mono. ; 10 in.

Perma-link: https://lccn.loc.gov/2015655249

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 03:10 PM

The version sung by the New Lost City Ramblers is derived from the following:

"Little Ball of Yarn" was sung by Mrs. Emma Dusenbury.
Mena, Arkansas. Recorded Dec 22, 1936 by Sidney Robertson
and Laurence Powell.   

AFS Call Number: AFS 03236 A01

Info online here: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afc9999005.6551

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 03:49 PM

THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN
(Murray Hale & Alden Blasdell)

It was in the month of May,
when the jacks begin to bray
And the jennies come prancing around the barn;
Said the jennie to the jack:
"Will you climb up on my back?
You can wind up my little ball of yarn."

It was in the month of June,
When the roses were in bloom
And the jennies were loose around the barn;
There I met a little Miss
And I simply asked her this:
May I wind up your little ball of yarn?"

She said, "Why don't you go to those
Who have money and fine clothes;
Why don't you go to the with your charms?"
But she finally gave consent,
And through the fields we went,
And we wound up her little ball of yarn.

After getting her consent,
Just around the stump we went,
And I asked her where she kept her little charm;
She said beneath her gown
So I gently laid her down,
And I wound up her little ball of yarn.

It was nine days after this,
when I went to take a piss,
I found my cock all mattery and warm,
Then I knew that by mishap
She had given me the clap
As I wound up her little ball of yarn.

It was nine months after that,
In my office chair I sat,
Wondering if I'd done her any harm
There appeared before the door
Her father and several more
"Marry my daughter, since you've got her ball of yarn."

It was nine days after that
In my office chair I sat,
Wondering if I'd done her any harm;
Then there came a gentle tapping,
And the doctor stood there laughing,
"You're the daddy of a little ball of yarn."

It was nine days after that,
In my office chair I sat,
Wondering if I'd done her any harm;
then an officer in blue
Said, "Young man, I'm after you.
You're the daddy of a little ball of yarn."

Collected 1933, McCammon, Idaho. The two informants learned their
versions in St. John, Idaho about 1919. Found in Songs and Ballads,
by James Kenneth Larson.

Elsewhere in the Larson MSS, Larson attributes verses 1 & 5 to Verrell Basdell,
verses 3 & 8 to Murray Hale, and verses 6 & 7 to Gilbert Illum.


See here: https://archive.org/details/1933-1972jameskennethlarson/page/n60/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 05:13 PM

Ball of Yarn

Was a sunny day in June
All the flowers were in bloom
And the birds were singing oh so merrily
When I spied that little lass
Just lighting in the grass
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

Well she gave me her consent
And behind the barn we went
Never dreaming that I could do her any harm
I laid her on the ground
And I lifted up her ground
And I rolled out that little ball of yarn

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

It was nine months after that
In the waiting room I sat
Never dreaming that I'd done her any harm
When the nurse all dressed in white
Said, "Young man, you won your fight."
When you rolled out your little ball of yarn."

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

It was nine weeks after that
In the pool room where I sat
Never dreaming that I'd done her any harm
When the cop all dressed in blue
Said, "Young man I've come for you."
'Cause you rolled out that little ball of yarn.

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

It was nine days after that
In the court room where I sat
Never dreaming that I'd done her any harm
When the judge all dress in black
Said, "Young man you won't be back
'Cause you rolled out that little ball of yarn.

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

It was nine days after that
In the electric chair I sat
Never dreaming that I'd done her any harm
When the man behind the glass
Shot the juice right up my leg
'Cause I rolled out that little ball of yarn.

Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
Ball of yarn (ball of yarn)
I rolled out that little ball of yarn

It was nine seconds after that
Down in Hades where I sat
Never dreaming that I'd done her any harm
Well they wrapped my jewels in wire
And they tossed them in the fire.
'Cause I'm the father of a nine pound ball of yarn.

Ball of yarn
Ball of yarn
'Cause I'm the father of a nine pound ball of yarn.

1983. Transcribed from the singing of Walt Robertson. Recorded at an informal session on a Sunday morning
at the breakfast table of a home on the Hood Canal,
Washington. From the audio archives of Bob Nelson.

Listen here: http://pnwfolklore.org/audiofiles/WaltRobertson-BallOfYarn-1983.mp3

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 11:20 PM

Ball of Yarn

In the pleasant month of May
When the birds they began to play
I took a walk out early in the morning
There I spied a pretty maid
And she's knitting of her trade
And I asked her could I wind her ball of yarn.

Oh no kind sir she said
We are strangers you and I
It's that you might have any other darling
And it's I have friends at home
They have money all bright in store
And it's then they wind m ball of yarn

I put me hand all round her waist
And I gently laid her down
I meant to do this maiden no harm
In the middle of the green
Where I knew I could be seen
Well it's there I winded up her ball of yarn

All those young ladies take a warning just by me
Don't ever go so early in the morning
Where the blackbird and the thrush
They'll be hopping all in the bush
Keep your handle on your little ball of yarn

Transcribed from the singing of Cyril Tawney on May 31, 1981
at the Holsteins Folk Club in Chicago. Issued on CD as in 2007
as Cyril Tawney: Live at the Holsteins.

According to the introduction to the song,
Cyril field collected this song from a homeless woman for whom he had
to buy a bottle of whiskey.

The tune is unlike any other I have heard for this song.


Listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubf7uoFl2cs

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 18 Dec 24 - 11:36 PM

The Ball o' Yarn

In the merry month of May
when the birds begin to play
I took a walk quite early in the morning
There I met a pretty maid
she was knitting all of her trade
And I asked her could I wind her ball of yarn

Oh no kind sir she said we are strangers you and I
It's then ye might have any other darling
And besides I've friends in town
they have money all bright in store
And it's there they wind me little ball of yarn

I put my arm around her and I gently laid her down
I meant to do this fair maid no harm
In the middle of the green
where I knew I would be seen
It was there I winded up her ball of yarn

So come all you fair young maidens
and a warning take be me
Don't take your walk so early in the morning
Where the blackbird and the thrush
they are singing all in yon bush
Keep your hand all on your little ball of yarn

1966. Second Album by Martin Carthy.

The Cyril Tawney tune & text is remarkably the same as the Martin Carthy version. Shared source?


Listen online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osuT6jZo1oc

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 03:33 AM

Martin Carthy's sleevenotes say: "This version was collected in Dorset by Cyril Tawney."

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 08:57 AM

LITTLE BALL OF YARN
(Tune -

It was in the merry month of may
When the jack begin to bray
And the jennies wipe their fannies on the barn,
That I met a maiden fair
And I asked her if she dare,
Let me wind up her little ball of yarn.

She said, "But, you're a stranger
And you don't know the danger
And you might do me some great harm.
But for a five dollar bill
we can go behind the hill
You can wind up my little ball of yarn.

Nine months have passed by
In my little room I sit
Thinking I had done her no great harm,
When an Officer dress in blue
Said, "But I have come for you
As the father of that little ball of yarn

I my lonely cell I sit
With y shirt tail dipped in shit
And the maggots play billiards with my balls,
And the people as they pass
They shove peanuts up my ass
As the father of that little ball of yarn

March, 1945. Songs of the Century. A mimeographed songbook by the 100th Bomb Group, 8th US Air Force.

See online here: https://archive.org/details/1945songsofthecentury/page/n4/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 08:56 PM

The above text is unusual as it uses the british "fanny" and the woman takes "5 dollars".

Rolling Up Her Little Ball of Yarn

'Twas in the month of June,
When the possum screwed the coon,
And the weather was very, very warn,
When a spied a pretty miss,
And I asked her simply this,
"May I roll up yo our little ball of yarn?"

She said, "Sir I tell you true,
This thing I cannot do,
It would ruin all my beauty and my charm,"
But she finally did consent,
So over the hill we went,
And I rolled up her little ball of yarn.

It was six weeks after this,
When I went to take a piss,
Not thinking that she'd done me any harm,
When I discovered by mishap,
That I'd caught a dose of clap,
Just from rolling up her little ball of yarn

It was nine months after that,
In the pool room where I sat,
When I felt a heavy hand upon my arm,
It was a man in blue,
Saying, "Sir we're after you,
You're the father of a nine pound ball of yarn."

Now in my prison cell I sit,
With my shirttail in my shit,
The bedbugs, they play checkers on my arm,
And the people as they pass,
Stick their hatpins up my ass,
All from rolling up her little ball of yarn.

1962. Alpha Siga Phi mimeographed songbook. Undated [1962].

See online here: https://archive.org/details/1962-alpha-sigma-phi-college-song-book_202305/page/n29/mode/1up?q=yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 09:15 PM

BALL OF YARN

'Twas a sunny day in June all the flowers were in bloom
The birds where singing gayly on the farm
When I spied a maiden fair and I said unto her there
Let me wind up your little ball of yarn

She said sir can't you see you're a stranger to me
But follow me out beyond the barn
There's a shady little noon down beside the babbling brook
Where you can wind up my little ball of yarn

Now twas nine months after that in a pool room where I sat
Never thinkin I had done her any harm
When an officer in blue said I'm looking after you
You're the father of an eight pound ball of yarn.

Now young man take my advice never stay out late at night
And you'll never lose your cherry or your charm
Be like the bluebird and the robin keep your little P* from bobbing
And you'll never wind up that little ball of yarn.

c1951. Death Rattler's [US Marine] Songbook.

Read online here: https://archive.org/details/1951deathrattlerssongbook/page/19/mode/1up?q=yarn

Another male-take-warning version.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 19 Dec 24 - 09:30 PM

It was in the month of May
When the men were making hay,
That I went for a walk down by the barn
There I spied a pretty maid
And unto her that I said,
"Won't you let me wind up your little ball of yarn?"

Oh, the blackbird and the thrush, they sing out from every bush,
Keep your hands upon your little ball of yarn.
Oh the blackbird and the thrush, they sing out from every bush,
Keep your hands upon your little ball of yarn.

"Oh no kind sir," said she,
"You're a stranger unto me,
"And no doubt you have some other little charm."
"Oh, no, my turtle dove,
"You're the only one I love.
"Won't you let me wind your little ball of yarn?"

Chorus

In the middle of the green
Where I knew we couldn't be seen
Not expecting for to do her any harm
And there to my surprise
Oh she looked into my eyes
Won't you let me wind your little ball of yarn?

Chorus

It was nine months from that day
When I met her on the way,
With a charming little girl upon her arm.
Says I, "Now young miss
"Oh you did not expect this,
"When you let me wind your little ball of yarn."

Chorus

All you burley burley dawn [ <== ??? ]
When you're playing in the corn
Make sure you don't come to any harm
For the blackbird and thrush
They'll come walking round your bush,
Keep your hands on your little ball of yarn.

Chorus

May 4, 2013. Transcribed from singing of Dick Miles at the
Swindon Folksingers Club.


Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8H9wpMBVtw


I'm uncertain about the beginning of the last verse. Any help with
transcribing it is appreciated.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: The Sandman
Date: 20 Dec 24 - 06:33 AM

birds of early dawn,
warbling round your bush

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: The Sandman
Date: 20 Dec 24 - 07:22 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8H9wpMBVtw dick miles ball of yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 20 Dec 24 - 05:04 PM

...so we know that such popular songs as "Anymore"
come from such bawdy ballads as "The Little Ball of Yarn"...

From "In Defense of Bawdy Ballads" by Oscar Brand. Modern Man magazine. Jan, 1957.


Does anyone know the popular song "Anymore" that Brand references ?

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Dec 24 - 10:58 PM

Heard this song a lot back in the 1960s in Devon and Cornwall, but always with the chorus:

"Sweet Belinda, Sweet Belinda
Tell me truly, tell me truly you'll be mine
Like the blackbird and the thrush, keep your hand upon your brush
And your finger on your little ball of twine".

Guessing that the Sweet Belinda bit was borrowed from another song, and ditto for "twine" replacing "yarn". Who was Belinda, or was the phrase Sweet Belinda a profanity of local (West Country) origin? (I seem to recall Sweet Belinda being shouted rather than sung).

Any thoughts?

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 12:50 PM

...There were also numerous references to the song [little ball of yarn]:
a piece about a sumptuous dinner given by members of the Crescent City
Battalion of the Louisiana State Militia in 1879 described the
soldiers exchanging jokes and songs, among which we cannot help
mentioning the 'Little ball of Yarn,' which was up to the point and
admirably rendered." 24

Reference found in Elijah Wald's Jelly Roll Blues. 2023.


See online here: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jelly_Roll_Blues/3SfQEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22ball+of+yarn%22+song&pg=PT114&printsec=frontcover


I don't have the book and can't check the endnote #24 for the source reference. Endnotes are not online.

This date would antedate the song prior to the popular song.   So not a parody of the 1884 song...

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 01:29 PM

In the hurried examintation given by us of the
Cornell Song book, just published as we went to
press, we did not perceive a glaring fault which we
should have noticed at the time. Our criticism is
that the book is incomplete, inasmuch as several
important songs are omitted. Nowhere do we find
"Kaiser's Little Dog," "Peeler, Peeler," "Student
of Cadiz," "Little Ball of Yarn," "Corduroy,"
"Room, Boys, Room," and a host of others, too
numerous to mention. While we realize that the
editors were very much hurried in the preparation of
the work, we must condemn their carelessness in
the omission of so many popular Cornell Songs.
Truly, the field is yet open to some aspiring musi-
cian.

September 30, 1881. The Cornell Era. Vol. XIV, No. 3. Pg 33.


See here: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924107259040&seq=41&q1=ball+of+yarn

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 01:48 PM

Great find.

New Orleans Democrat (May 15, 1879), p. 8:

"During the evening's entertainment many songs were sung, among which we cannot help mentioning the 'Little Ball of Yarn,' which was up to the point and admirably rendered."

Also:

Scott Valley News (Ft. Jones, Calif.) (Jan. 18, 1880), p. 3: "Mr. Sekelly sang his favorite 'Little Ball of Yarn.'"

The Evening News (St.Joseph, Mo.) (June 9, 1880), p. 4:

"It is understood that a number of young ladies are very anxious to learn that new and popular ballad, 'Winding Up That Little Ball of Yarn.' They should have some of their young gentlemen friends sing it for them."

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 02:42 PM

Elijah Wald also mentions "...A version [of "Yellow Yorlin"] recorded in
New Hampshire referred to 'a bird I call my little yorkla harlin'..."
but there is no reference. I know of no printed versions of the Yellow
Yorlin' outside of the original "Merry Muses of Caledonia" in 1799.
The reprints from the 1800s omit this song. So I am very curious to
find a field collected text of "Yellow Yorlin'" or at least a reference
to the song in the 1800's.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 06:05 PM

I've found nothing on "little yorkla harlin," but here's an interesting rhyme about the "yellow yorlin" (yellowhammer):

Newcastle Weekly Chronicle (Newcastle-on-Tyne) (May 25, 1889), p. 8:

"In the writer's schoolboy days, there was a rhyme supposed to be descriptive of the evil propensities of this handsome and harmless bird. It was something to the effect that

    The yellow yorlin
    Drinks a drap o' the de'il's bluid every May morning."

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 07:26 PM

The "Yorkla Harlin" song is in the following collection:

Eloise Hubbard Linscott collection, circa 1815, 1929-2002
Series II: Sound Recordings (continued)
SR069, September 28, 1946
1 10-inch disc
Performed by Maynard Reynolds, in Pittsburg, New Hampshire. Collector's original ID: III.
Side A:
Digital ID: afc1942002_sr069a
All Of Her Answers It Was No
Yorkla Harlin

See online here: https://findingaids.loc.gov/db/search/xq/searchMferDsc04.xq?_id=loc.afc.eadafc.af013006&_start=1734&_lines=125

Info provided by Elijah Wald. Thanks Elijah!

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: Lighter
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 08:36 PM

Do we have the words, John? If not, we don't know what the phrase means or refers to.

If the song really is "The Yellow, Yellow Yorlin," it could be an astonishing missing link.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Dec 24 - 09:54 PM

Dartmoor singer Bill Murray recorded the song with the Sweet Belinda chorus on his "Down 'pon Ole Dartymoor" album, though he sings "yarn" and not "twine". No indication of his source though....

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 26 Dec 24 - 08:05 AM

Lighter, I have emailed Elijah. I will update this thread if I learn anything.

The Golden Skein

Oh, it was in the month of May
When rams and heifers sport and play
And tiny birds do sing a charm --
I met a fair young man.

The sun shone on his flaxen hair,
His cheek was high and rosy fair,
And when he spoke most courteously,
'Twas like the sound of Spring.

"Oh, would you mind," he said to me,
"If I do tag along with thee,
Perchance to help thee bind thy hair
Or weave the golden skein?"

"Oh, no, kind sir, this cannot be
For you're a stranger unto me
My mistress bids, I will not bide
Or pass the idle day."

"'Tis best you go and seek out those
With riches fine and frilly clothes
Where ladies fair do plait and bind
Or weave th? golden skein"

But, oh, the day was sweet and warm
And th?re was pleasure in his form
To idle was my moment's ease
The rest, my heart's desire

So gently took he by the hand
To wander softly 'cross the land
To pluck a rose to bind my hair
To tread the flowered stream

Then on my breast he wound a chain
Around and fro and back again
And in a cloak of lace entwined
He wove the golden skein

1966. Dumbarton's Drums LP by The Beers Family.

On the back cover they say this is an "anonymous author".
The Beers Family put in a copyright for The Golden Skein
when they re-released the album in 1972. I don't have
that recording to see if it is different.

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 26 Dec 24 - 08:29 AM

For a similar example [of folk expurgation]
from America, we again turn to the repertory of Robert
Beers. In 1943, Mr. Beers learned two distinct versifications
of the same piece from his grandfather North Freedom, Wisconsin.
The following version of "The Little Ball of Yarn" was sung
by George Sullivan exclusively to all-male audiences:

THE LITTLE BALL OF YARN

1. It was in the month of May, when the lambs do sport and play
And the birds in the bushes sang a charm,
That I met a fair young maid, and to her I did say,
"May I wind for you your little ball of yarn?"

2. "Oh, no, kind sir," said she, "You're a stranger unto me
And I fear that you may bring to me great harm.
You better go for those who have money and fine clothes,
And wind for them their little ball of yarn."

3. But I took this handsome maid and I led her to the shade
While the birds in the bushes sang a charm,
And the blackbird and the thrush hid their head behind the brush
Whilst I would for her her little ball of yarn.

On occasion, George Sullivan would sing the related ballad of
"The Golden Skein" to mixed audiences:

[ Omitting lyrcs of "The Golden Skein"
[
[ Listen to "The Golden Skein" online here:
[
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJqw0d4lnhU
   

Beers reports his grandfather was aware that these two pieces
where different versions of the same ballad tale, and that
the erotic metaphors of the later piece [The Golden Skein]
were likely to me missed in the course of their being sung
to an exquisite Victorian melody, whereas the former item,
sung to a pedestrian, hackneyed tune, had little to distract
a listener from its patently bawdy text. It should be noticed
in this context that though both songs contain related
euphemisms for the same sexual referents, the humorous
metaphor of "the little ball of yarn" was so obvious and
so widely known it could not serve to conceal its bawdry
from either male or female audience. It had lost it
euphemistic value and had thus become "a man's song."
The "golden skein" metaphor, far more poetic and largely
unfamiliar as a sexual euphemism to members of either sex,
could be performed by both men and women before mixed
audiences without offending anyone.

Goldstein, Kenneth S. "Bowdlerization and Expurgation:
Academic and Folk". pg 380. Journal of American Folklore.
Vol. 80, No. 318 (Oct.-Dec. 1967). pp. 374-386.

Stable link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/537416

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Dec 24 - 10:40 AM

it's not that good of a song for all this

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 26 Dec 24 - 07:54 PM

Little Ball of Yarn

One sunny day in June
When the flowers were in bloom
And the bird singing gaily on the barn;
I met a pretty miss
And I simply asked her this,
"Can I weave it in that little ball of yarn?"

She gave me her consent
So behind the fence we went
Not a-knowin' that we had so many charms;
There I laid her on the ground
And I lifted up her gown,
And I wove it in that little ball of yarn.

It was nine days after that
In the doctor's chair I sat
Not a-knowin' that she done me any harm;
And the doctor there in white
Said "Young man you're got to fight!
You're be weaving in that little ball of yarn."

It was nine months after that
In the same damned room I sat
Not a-knowin' that I done her any harm;
And the officer in blue,
Said, "Young man I'm after you.
You've been weaving in that little ball of yarn."

c1945. Apples of Eden: A Private Collection of American Folk-Lore:
Gathered from cowboys, college boys, and latino americanos by a
liberal who does not believe that these choice morsels should be
thrown out of American Literature because of their vigorous and
unconventional language. After all, a manure pile by any other name
would smell no better! And even a manure pile has its values.
77 pages. 4to. (Berkley, California? ca. 1945.) Typescript.


See online here: https://archive.org/details/1945applesofeden/page/n26/mode/1up


GUEST any song that lasts at least 145 years (if not 225 years)
in oral traditions is worth tracing. There is something makes people
want to learn it and sing it!

Subject: RE: Origins: Little Ball of Yarn
From: and e
Date: 26 Dec 24 - 09:09 PM

Sweet Belinda

It was in the month of June
When the roses were in bloom
I was staying at my grandfather's farm
There I met a pretty maid
And unto her I said
Let me wind up your ball of yarn

Sweet Belinda, sweet Belinda
Tell me truly, tell me truly, you'll be mine
Like the blackbird and the thrush
Keep your hand upon your brush
And your finger on your little ball of yarn.

Well I took her by the arm.
And I laid neath the tree
Meaning to do her no harm
But the devil entered me
And I got up to her knee
And I wound up her little ball of yarn.

Sweet Belinda, sweet Belinda
Tell me truly, tell me truly, you'll be mine
Like the blackbird and the thrush
Keep your hand upon your brush
And your finger on your little ball of yarn.

Well many months had passed
Before I saw this little lass
She was carrying a baby in her arm
So she looked up so black at me
For the reason you could see.
I had wound up her little ball of yarn.

Sweet Belinda, sweet Belinda
Tell me truly, tell me truly, you'll be mine
Like the blackbird and the thrush
Keep your hand upon your brush
And your finger on your little ball of yarn.

2008. Down 'pon Ole Dartymoor CD by Bill Murray


Listen online: https://wrenmusic1.bandcamp.com/track/sweet-belinda