Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl

Subject: Betsy, a serving girl
From:
Date: 16 Aug 99 - 11:31 PM

Dear Folks:

I heard a song on Brian O'Donovan's "Celtic Sojourn" program on WGBH in Boston the other day that I'm trying to track down. It is about 'Betsy, a serving girl,' who is transported to America by her mistress when the mistress's son falls in love with her.

Thanks for any information.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From:
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 12:18 AM

Laws M20, three version in DT. [Search for M20]
It originally appeared as a two part ballad about 1690, "Constancy Lamented" and "Love Overthrown".

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From:
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 01:28 AM

The original two part ballad was later condensed into one. There's a copy of it, c 1802-40, entitled "The Betrayed Maiden" in C. H. Firth's An American Garland, 1915.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From: GeorgeH
Date: 17 Aug 99 - 07:04 AM

For my money the definitive recording of this is on Martin Simpson's "Live" album (see his web site: http://www.watershed-arts.com/msimpson for details. June Tabor also recorded a version a while back (IIRC) under a different title. Martin cites June as his original source (there is a fair bit of cross-fertilisation between their repetoires since they stopped working as a duo).

G.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From:
Date: 25 Aug 99 - 10:49 PM

Dear George H. and others:

Thanks so much for the information. I'm off to track down Martin Simpson's recordings.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 12:32 AM

The old East Anglian farm worker, Harry Cox, sings this on his Folk-Legacy recording, now available as a "custom cassette." His text resembles the "Johnny and Betsy" in the DT, which comes from Louise Pound's Nebraska collection, more than it does the other two versions there, but it does differ significantly. If you'd like to see the text as old Mr. Cox had it, I'll post it (all eleven verses!), but you'll have to tell me you want it. (I hate to type.) The cassette, by the way, comes with a booklet of notes on the songs and their complete texts, and is available through the Mudcat Shop. Check it out!

Sandy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 12:52 AM

I just discovered that clicking on Harry Cox's "Betsy, the Servant Maid" in the Shop catalog brings up the right information, but the wrong illustration. If you want to see an image of the old English farm laborer (and superb traditional singer), you'll have to pay a quick visit to our Folk-Legacy web site. Try clicking here. If that doesn't work, complain to the Shop managers that they've got the wrong picture! The image they show is of Joseph Able Trivett (Folk-Legacy C-2), an old logger and farmer I recorded near Butler, Tennessee, many years ago. He had a lot of fine songs, too. Ah, those were the days, my friends.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From: GeorgeH
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 08:35 AM

My recollection (from fairly long past conversations) is that Harry Cox was June Tabor's original source for the song, and that Martin Simpson was first introduced to the song by June.

G.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From: Sandy Paton
Date: 26 Aug 99 - 11:44 AM

I'm not surprised. Harry Cox was the source for many of the songs performed by later "revival" singers. He was Peter Bellamy's favorite singer, too. Every time we saw Peter in this country he would tell his audiences about our recording of Harry Cox. So, if you want to hear the source singer of many of your favorite performers, give old Harry a listen. Fine singer, although he was in his 80s when Peter Kennedy made the tapes used for this release. Some neat bawdy stuff here, too: "The Old German Musicianer," for instance.

If you order this cassette direct from Folk-Legacy, be sure to include "this is a Mudcat order" in the comment line, so we can credit the 'Cat with the sale.

Sandy

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Betsy, a serving girl
From:
Date: 27 Aug 99 - 06:47 PM

17th and 19th century broadside ballad copies are now in the Scarce Songs 2 file at www.erols.com/olsonw