Lyr Add: Meeting's a Pleasure

Subject: Meeting's a pleasure
From: Bruce O.
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 06:33 PM

Meeting's a Pleasure,
    but parting's a grief
An Unconstant Lover
    is worse than a thief
A thief he can robb me
    and take what I have
But an Unconstant Lover
    will bring me to the Grave

Commencement of "The Young Man's Lamentation", 1690's. Douce ballads 2(261b)

Sound familiar?

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From: Gene
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 06:44 PM

Looks strangely familiar...[in database]

1) PRETTY POLLY 3

A meeting is a pleasure
a parting is a grief
An unconstant lover is
worse than a thief
A thief can but rob you
and take all you have

2) ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY

Though courting's a pleasure
and parting is grief
A false-hearted lover
is worse than a thief
For a thief will just rob you
and take what you have

3) JOHNNY AND MOLLIE

A meeting is a pleasure
but parting is grief
An inconstant lover
is worse than a thief
For a thief can but rob you
and take all you have

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From: Banjer
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 06:55 PM

From the 1690's? I guess we'll have to classify it as part of the folk process since I don't think plagiarism laws were fully established back then..*BG*

I know that at least for the rest of this day and probably tommorow I shall be singing or humming 'On Top Of Old Smoky'...Thanks Bruce O.....

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 07:32 PM

It's what (Bert Lloyd?) called a "floating verse". Turns up all over the place. Entire songs are made of them!

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From: sophocleese
Date: 02 Oct 99 - 07:37 PM

If you've got a good tune there's no point letting it die for lack of words is there? A past equivalent to the Dover books of copyright free illustrations.

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From: Fionan
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 04:48 AM

It's on Eliza Carthy's 'Red Rice' in a song called 'The Americans have Stolen My True Love Away'

Subject: RE: Meeting's a pleasure
From:
Date: 05 Oct 99 - 09:21 AM

A descendent of a 17th century ballad by Laurence Price, "Now the tyrant has stolen my dearest away". S