Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford

Subject: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Joe Offer
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 09:48 PM

For his A Folk Song a Day project, Jon Boden chose "Farewell to Old Bedford" as the song for November 28.
The song's in the Digital Tradition (as collected by Frank Warner from Lee Monroe Presnell at Beech Mountain, North Carolina - a long way from Bedford, Massachusetts), but there has been no discussion of this song. Anybody have anything to add?

Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry for this song:

Farewell to Old Bedford

DESCRIPTION: "Farewell to old Bedford, I'm bound for to leave you. Likewise those pretty girls I nevermore shall see." The singer has been forced away by his parents, and intends to "drown away sorrows in a bottle of wine" and ignore his troubles
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1951 (Warner)
KEYWORDS: family drink exile travel rambling
FOUND IN: US(SE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Warner 99, "Farewell to Old Bedford" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, OLDBDFRD*
ST Wa099 (Full)
Roud #16399
RECORDINGS:
Lee Monroe Presnell, "Farewell to Old Bedford" (on USWarnerColl01)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Farewell Lovely Nancy" (meter)
cf. "Adieu to Bon County" (floating lyrics)
Notes: I have to suspect that this is a worn-down, possibly reworked, version of something else (e.g. "Farewell, Charming Nancy") -- but I can't identify with any real probability what the original song was. It may well go back to the same ancestor as "Adieu to Bon County," but there has been a lot of drift in between. - RBW
File: Wa099

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The Ballad Index Copyright 2009 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

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Supplement entry: From Anne Warner, Traditional American Folk Songs from the Anne & Frank Warner Collection, #99, pp. 244-245. From the singing of Lee Monroe Presnell of Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Collected 1951. (identical to the lyrics in the Digital Tradition)

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Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Leadfingers
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 10:01 PM

A Commercial Vehicle up for Scrap ??



Sorry - Ive GOT My Coat !!

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Effsee
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 10:37 PM

My first thoughts exactly Terry!

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Lonesome EJ
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 11:00 PM

Tim Eriksen does a version of this on one of his solo efforts, and it will flat knock your socks off!

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: RTim
Date: 28 Nov 10 - 11:05 PM

Tim generally starts all his concerts by singing this.

Tom Radford

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Jeri
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 09:08 AM

Tim Eriksen, singing it in a snowstorm.

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Jon Bartlett
Date: 29 Nov 10 - 07:51 PM

It's also recorded by Dyad on their first CD

Jon Bartlett

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: GUEST,Alan Whittle
Date: 30 Nov 10 - 06:18 AM

Sounds (to me) like a distant cousin of 'Farewell and Adieu to you fine Spanish ladies'.

Great singing Tim, I hope they let you in the house sometimes. My wife can't abide me playing the guitar along to the television, still she's never sent me out to play in a snowstorm - up to now, that is.

Subject: RE: Origins: Farewell to Old Bedford
From: Brian Peters
Date: 10 Jan 22 - 08:14 AM

Ignoring the spam post above, I did hear that Tim opened with this song when Cordelia's Dad opened for Nirvana - which would have taken some balls!

Lee Monroe Presnell's singing of it was clearly Tim's inspiration.