Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Joe Offer Date: 25 May 21 - 01:36 AM I got an interesting Canadian (???) Les Barker parody in an email from Elizabeth Block. THE WRAGGLE TAGGLE GYPSIES, EH (Les Barker) here were three gypsies came to her door A block from Bloor in Toron-ti-eh And they said, Fair maid, would you run away, Would you go with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh? Well, she went along All the way down Yonge, Sang a song at the offices of VIA And from there did go Through Ontar-i-o On the train with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. Well, her husband rode from Etobicoke* Where he works with a guy from Mississau-gi-eh And he soon did know the scenar-i-o, She did go with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. Come saddle me my milk-white steed And bridle me my pony, oh, I'll find my bride and ask her why She did go with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. It's a long, long ride through the countryside Of Ontar-i-o and Manito-bi-eh Out to Edmonton, where he found she had gone Further on with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. By now she'd be out in B.C., By the sea out in British Colum-bi-eh, Some say she may have reached Swartz Bay All the way with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. Well, he went then to Tsawassen Where he took the ferry very quickly, eh, And there he learned she had just returned To Toronto with the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh. "What, home again! Well, sod that then! I'm taking to the road out Cowichan Bay way, I'm over her, and Nanaimo, sir, I prefer to the Wraggle Taggle Gypsies, Eh! By Les Barker Transcribed from memory by Elizabeth Block. *Etobicoke has a silent K |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Jerome Clark Date: 18 Jul 16 - 08:07 PM Ian Tyson's album Carnero Vaquero (Stony Plain, 2015) features a brilliant modern retelling of the story. "Jughound Ronnie" is credited to Tyson and Kris Demeanor. It incorporates some traditional lyrics and scraps of the older melody (or one of them). |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,JeffB Date: 18 Jul 16 - 06:01 PM My favourite version was found by the American collector James Madison Carpenter. He is better known for the collection of shanties he made in the 1930s, but at some point he was in Oxfordshire where he met a mason called George Giles, who gave him a fine version he called "The daggle-tailed gypsies". Or perhaps he called it "The draggled-tailed gypsies" and Carpenter mis-heard him: it was recorded from Mr Giles under the latter title by Alfred Williams. Wiltshire County Council's website has a section which holds over 1000 of the texts Williams collected in Wiltshire and Oxfordshire in the folk arts/song search page at https://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/folk It also includes the version Mr Giles gave to Carpenter with the tune. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,anton Date: 18 Jul 16 - 04:50 PM Refer to Matty Groves Tam Links Tir Na Nog |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Reinhard (11 Feb 2015) Date: 22 Feb 15 - 02:06 AM The version of "The Dark-Eyed Gypsy" in the last posting seems to be from the singing of Joe Holmes as printed in David Cooper's book The Musical Traditions of Northern Ireland and its Diaspora, page 41. |
Subject: ADD Version: The Dark-Eyed Gypsy From: GUEST,Padraig (10 Feb 2015) Date: 22 Feb 15 - 02:05 AM Yet another version of the same song. The Dark-Eyed Gypsy 1 There were three gypsies lived in the East, And they were braw and bonnie O, They sang so sweet at the castle gate, That they charmed the heart of the lady, O. 2 She gave to them the sparkling wine She gave to them the brandy, O, And the gay golden ring that the lady wore, She gave to the dark-eyed gypsy,O. 3 When the lord of the castle he came home, And enquired for his lady, O, "She is gone, she is gone" said the young servant boy, "She's away with the dark-eyed gypsy, O. 4 "Go saddle for me my milk white steed, The bay is not so speedy, O, And I'll ride for a day and a whole long night, Till I find my own wedded Lady, O." 5 Then Giles put his spurs unto his horse, And off he rode so speedy, O, Until he fell in with his own wedded love, Along with the dark-eyed gypsy, O. 6 "Will you forsake your house and your land? Will you forsake your children three?" "I would leave them all for the one I love, And I'll follow my dark-eyed gypsy, O." 7 "Last night I lay on a fine feather bed, My own wedded lord beside me, O, But tonight I'll lie on a cold barn floor, In the arms of my dark-eyed gypsy, O." |
Subject: Lyr Add: THE ROVIN' PLOUGHBOY From: GUEST,mayomick (28 Jan 2015) Date: 22 Feb 15 - 02:04 AM Roving Ploughboy Chorus: Ploughboy-o, ploughboy-o Follow the rovin' ploughboy-o Saddle tae me my old grey mare Saddle tae me my pony-o And noo she's on the road and she's far far awa' Awa' wi' her rovin' ploughboy-o Champion ploughboy her Geordie lad Cups and medals and prizes-o In bonnie Deveron-side there is none can compare Wi' the jolly rovin' ploughboy-o Yestreen she lay in a fine feather bed Sheets and blankets sae cosy-o And noo she maun lie in a cauld barn-shed Ro'ed in the arms o' her ploughboy-o Fare thee weel tae auld Huntly toon Fare thee weel Drumdelgie-o And noo she's on the road and she's far far awa' Awa' wi' her rovin' ploughboy-o http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=69590 |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST Date: 22 Feb 15 - 02:03 AM GUEST,riverdan I am pretty sure this is the one you meant. Jeannie Robertson - Gypsy Laddie |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Ged Fox Date: 15 Sep 14 - 08:25 AM Baring-Gould's versions: Gipsy Countess Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XJNOf0X9O8 and part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TspVTFtNelk |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Rob Currie Date: 19 Sep 12 - 01:14 PM What has always intrigued me about this song is the melody; it doesn't feel at all like it comes from the British Isles, to me. There are references above to there being versions from elsewhere in Europe. Anyone ever read anything about the tune itself? Is it, say, Roma in origin, or is that too twee? |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Ged Fox Date: 10 Sep 12 - 02:31 PM The version in Baring-Gould's Songs of the West has the wife as a gipsy woman, married against her inclinations to an earl (The Gipsy Countess, part 1.) In the second part, the wife runs away back to the gipsies, but when she rejects the earl and his wealth, and says she'll sleep in the wide open field, " 'Nay, thou shalt not!' Then he drew, I wot, The sword that hung at his saddle bow. And once he smote at her lily-white throat, And there her red blood down did flow. Then stained with blood, was the posie good, THat was of the wildest flow'rs that blow. She sank on her side, and so she died, For she would away with the gipsies-o" |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Jim Carroll Date: 10 Sep 12 - 06:42 AM Interesting piece (to me anyway) from 'Chambers's Miscellany of Useful and Entertaining Tracts, Vol 16' William and Robert Chambers (eds.), Edinburgh, 1847 Jim Carroll ANECDOTES OF THE SCOTTISH GIPSIES. One of the earliest anecdotes of the Scottish gipsies is that of "Johnnie Faa, the Gipsy Laddie," who eloped with the lady of the Earl of Cassilis. This story rests on tradition, and on an old ballad; the facts, so far as they can he gathered, are thus related in the "Picture of Scotland." "John, the sixth Earl of Cassilis, a stern Covenanter, of whom it is recorded by Bishop Burnet that he would never permit his language to he understood but in its direct sense, obtained to wife Lady Jean Hamilton, a daughter of Thomas, first Earl of Haddington, who had raised himself from the Scottish bar to a peerage, and the best fortune of his time. The match seems to have been dictated by policy; and it is not likely that Lady Jean herself had much to say in the bargain. On the contrary, says report, she had been previously beloved by a gallant young knight, a Sir John Faa of Dunbar, who had perhaps seen her at her father's seat of Tyningham, which is not more than three miles from that town. When several years were gone, and Lady Cassilis had brought her husband three children, this passion led to a dreadful catastrophe. Her youthful lover, seizing an opportunity when the Earl of Cassilis was attending the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, came to Cassilis Castle, a massive old tower, on the banks of the Doon. He was dis¬guised as a gipsy, and attended by a band of these desperate out¬casts. The countess consented to elope with her lover. Ere they had proceeded very far, however, the earl came home, and immediately set out in pursuit. Accompanied by a band which put resistance out of the question, he overtook them, and captured the whole party at a ford over the Doon, still called the ' Gipsies' Steps,' a few miles from the castle. He brought them back to Cassilis, and there hanged all the gipsies, including the hapless Sir John, upon ' the Dule Tree,' a splendid and most umbrageous plane, which yet nourishes on a mound, in front of the castle gate, and which was his gallows in ordinary, as the name testifies— 'And we were fifteen weel-made men, Although we were na bonnie; And we were a' put down for ane— A fair young wanton lady.' The countess was taken by her husband to a window in front of the castle, and there compelled to survey the dreadful scene—to-see, one after another, fifteen gallant men put to death—and at last to witness the dying agonies of him who had first been dear to her. The particular room in the stately old house where the unhappy lady endured this horrible torture, is still called ' The Countess's Room.' After undergoing a short confinement in that apartment, the house belonging to the family at Maybole was fitted up for her reception, by the addition of a fine projecting staircase, upon which were carved heads, representing those of her lover and his band; and she was removed thither, and con¬fined for the rest of her life—the earl, in the meantime, marry¬ing another wife. One of her daughters was afterwards married! to the celebrated Gilbert Burnet. The effigies of the gipsies oh the staircase at Maybole are very minute; the head of Johnnie Faa himself is distinct from the rest, large, and more lachry¬mose in the expression of the features." Such is the story; but whether the hero, who is here called Sir John Faa of Dunbar, was himself of gipsy blood, as the ballad bears, and as tradition asserts, or whether he was merely in such intimacy with the gipsies as to obtain their aid in the adventure, cannot be decisively ascertained. It may be mentioned, however, that the colony of gipsies long-established in Yetholm, in Roxburghshire, always claimed to be of the same stock with the Faws or Falls, a family of respecta¬bility settled in East-Lothian, and of which the hero of the ballad may have been a scion, holding some rank in Scottish society, and yet keeping- up a connexion with his outcast kindred. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Amy Date: 08 Sep 12 - 09:42 PM Another variation on the theme: Beggars to God Words & Music by Bob Franke The song of Gypsy Davy rang delighted through the night The wise & foolish virgin kept her candle burning bright Rise up my young & foolish one & follow if you can There'll be no need for candles in the arms of such a man Chorus: Make love to each other, be free with each other Be prisoners of love til you lie in the sod Be friends to each other, forgive one another See God in each other: be beggars to God The night was cold & dark & wet as they wandered on alone The sky became their canopy, the earth became their throne And as their raiment ran to rags, they thought it nothing wrong For earth & sky are robe enough when you sing the Gypsies' song They sang & played the Gypsies' song wherever they were sent To some it seemed a dancing tune - to some, a sad lament But in ev'ry heart that heard them true a tear became a smile And a pauper or a prince became a Gypsy for a while ©1983 Telephone Pole Music Publishing Co(BMI) |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST Date: 10 May 12 - 03:53 PM The great version of "Black Jack Davey" done on "Songcatcher II The Tradition That Inspired The Movie" was sung by Almeda Riddle. Someone earlier had mentioned this. I think she deserves to be named. She kept over 500 ballads in her repetoire, and often had numerous versions of the same songs. She was born in 1898 and was an incredible lady. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Reinhard Date: 26 Sep 09 - 03:54 PM Also, it's quite implausible that the gypsies were hanged a year after Lady Hamilton's death. I'd rather have expected an immediate trial and execution. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Gypsy Laddie / Blackjack Davey From: Genie Date: 26 Sep 09 - 12:53 PM Maybe someone can help me with this. Right now Wikipedia (that oh, so, reliable source!) has this blurb about the origins of the song "Gypsy Laddie" and it's variants: [["The ballad, according to Tosches, retells the story of John Faw, a 17th century outlaw, described as a Gypsy, and Lady Jane Hamilton, wife of John Kennedy, 6th Earl of Cassilis. Lord Cassilis led a band of men (some sources say 16, other 7) to abduct her. They were caught and hanged on the "Dool Tree" in 1643. The "Gypsies" were killed (except for one, who escaped) and Lady Jane Hamilton was imprisoned for the remainder of her life, dying in 1642."]] Wikipedia: The Gypsy Laddie I know that Barry said above that no connection has been established between any Cassilis and a gypsy, but I'm also curious as to whether whoever submitted that info at Wiki meant to say that Johnny Faw (or another gypsy) led a band of men to abduct Lady Jane H. It seems weird that if a husband led a band of men to rescue his wife from kidnappers it would be called "abduction" and even more odd that, even if the wife had willingly run off with the gypsies, the husband and his cohorts would be hanged for "abducting" his own wife from the gypsies. Lord Cassilis was not hanged, was he? |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Diva Date: 29 Jul 09 - 03:59 AM Heard a version last year from a singer from home (Ayrshire) that actually mentions Ayr, Dalrymple and Maybole. I was talking to Joe Rae of Beith at the weekend and he informs me Child got the dates wrong. For those who do not know him Joe is an oracle and his wealth of knowledge of songs and ballads is superb. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Thomas Date: 28 Jul 09 - 12:32 PM I have a book called "English folk-songs for schools" from the turn of the last century, I think collated by Cecil Sharp and Sabine Baring Gould witch does say he collected a version from Somerset. the song is entitled "No. 1. The Wraggle Taggle Gipsies, O!". In the intro for the book it is stated it comes from "Folk-songs from Somerset" by Mr. Sharp and Rev. C Marson... |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Terry McDonald Date: 24 Mar 09 - 12:34 PM Saro - eleven months late, but Barry Dransfield has a last verse to 'Gypsy Davey' on his 'Wings of the Sphinx' album which goes: The Master he went home that night And took good care of his baby-o And e're six months had passed and gone He's married another lady-o. Not quite what you mentioned, but a (presumably) satisfactory conclusion for the husband. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Jim Dixon Date: 24 Mar 09 - 11:36 AM THE WRAGGLE-TAGGLE GYPSIES is mentioned in A History of Music in England by Ernest Walker (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907):
The latter book doesn't seem to be viewable online. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Saro Date: 28 Apr 08 - 06:38 AM CMR and the Askew sisters are working on a Hampshire version which gardiner collected from Mrs. Goodyear in 1907 (apologies if this has been mentioned earlier). It only mentions two gipsies, but Hampshire was a very poor county at the time so we probably couldn't afford any more... Though come to think of it, bearing in mind the area I live in, if more than two were seen walking around together they would probably have been arrested under some public order legislation, or maybe for singing or whistling in public without a license, but I digress... Incidentally has anyone heard a song which tells a sequel to the 7 (or what you will) Gipsies? In this song, the lady returns a year or more later, cold and hungry and with a baby. Her former husband invites her in, gives her food and money, but then tells her to go away for ever, as he can never forgive her for deserting him. I haven't heard any other replies giving the man's point of view before. Saro |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: pavane Date: 28 Apr 08 - 05:41 AM Probably worth mentioning that Barry Skinner used to sing a version called The Treble Tail Gypsies, but unfortunately he can't remember exactly where he learned it. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST Date: 27 Apr 08 - 08:41 AM Has any one heard of an irish Trad band called "The Raggle Taggle Gypsies", if so I would be very grateful for a gigs lisings |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Chris Smith Date: 12 Jan 07 - 02:36 PM Looking back in this thread, I find a reference to Martin Simpson's c2000 performances of a version of this song. I heard him do it live but have not been able to locate his CD version (if one exists). Can anyone tell me? Many thanks for any info. cjs chris@coyotebanjo.com |
Subject: Another great version of Gypsy Davy From: unvarnished Date: 12 Jan 07 - 12:07 PM Thanks to Malcolm Douglas for his compendium of postings on this subject. I couldn't find any reference to the version done by Tim Eriksen of Cordelia's Dad on their CD "Comet" (1995). He does a wonderful job of singing and playing, just him, his authentic sounding singing, and a nice acoustic guitar acommpaniment. The notes say he got 6 of the verses from a 1941 recording of Lena Bourne "Grammy" Fish of East Jaffrey, New Hampshire. He describes the song as being "about a woman of great imagination and wit, and her husband who has neither." The recording has 15 verses in all, some of them similar to the Richard Dyer-Bennet version of Raggle-Taggle Gypsies. The tune is a little different from, but related to the "Gypsy Rover" tune. I transcribed this from listening to the CD: Gypsy Davy (as performed by Cordelia's Dad) The gypsy king came over the hill Defying storm and danger It seemed to be my lot to fall In love with the dark-eyed stranger. I gave to him of the good wheat bread And he gave to me the ginger I gave to him a better thing, All the gold from off my fingers. And he has asked me to be his wife To be his honoured lady He's asked me to leave my home and kin And follow the Gypsy Davy. Oh they tell me to marry beneath my rank Is nothing short of danger But title and gold cannot compare With my love for the dark-eyed stranger. So she's taken off her high heeled shoes All made of Spanish leather She's gone down in her loyal shoes And they rode off together. Oh they rode high and they rode low They rode so late and early They rode til they come to the dark blue sea And oh but she was weary. Last night I slept in a down feather bed An honoured and titled lady But tonight I'll sleep in the green, green field In the arms of my Gypsy Davy. And when the lord come home in the night Inquiring for his lady The servants made him this reply: She's gone with the Gypsy Davy. Go saddle to me my little yellow mare The gray one's not so speedy I rode all day and I rode all night So I'll overtake my lady Oh he rode to the dark blue sea It looked so dark and dreary There he spied his own dear bride By the side of the Gypsy Davy. Oh will you come home my dear, my love? Will you come home my darling? I'll keep you safe in a close, close room Where no man will ever come near you. No I won't come home my dear, my love I'll not come home my darling If I brew good beer, I'll drink the same And you'll no more come near me. So she's taken off her long blue gloves All made of Spanish leather She waved farewell with a little white hand She waver farewell forever. Saying, I do not envy any honoured queen Or any titled lady I'd rather be a gypsy queen, The bride of my black-eyed Davy. Last night I slept in a down feather bed An honoured and titled lady But tonight I'll sleep in the green, green field In the arms of my Gypsy Davy. |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 04 Oct 04 - 01:01 AM BTW, on the Penny Black Music Page, there is a Google Ad "Large selection for sale from cheap and cheerful to Superb" Is this for the Band or the Stamp? Maybe the the Band's new slogan... or a new CD title ? (Do I get a freebie for suggesting the title if you use it?) :P Robin |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: The Fooles Troupe Date: 04 Oct 04 - 12:54 AM So have you got "The Raggle Taggle Black Jack Gypsy Davy came Whistling Over the Hill With Six Of His Mates' Words? and which tune? :-) I'm offically asking LeadFingers... :-) |
Subject: hobnail boots From: GUEST Date: 03 Oct 04 - 11:03 AM can anyone enlighten me? My grandmother used to sing a song to me as a child, but the only bit I can remember is the last line, which I think gets repeated several times throughout the song, and it is "the hobnail boots that father wore" I would love to be reminded of the words to this song - if anyone knows what it is. Thanks |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Leadfingers Date: 11 Sep 04 - 06:14 AM Incidentally , Do I score any points for the hundredth post to a thread ? |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Leadfingers Date: 11 Sep 04 - 05:59 AM I still like the Louis Robinson rewrite 'The Raggle Taggle Black Jack Gypsy Davy came Whistling Over the Hill With Six Of His Mates' - It was written so that whichever 'Gypsy' song was requested , the song fitted . |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST Date: 11 Sep 04 - 12:16 AM If you are asking about the Chieftans irish band the album is called "Further Down the Old Plank Road", they are a band playing traditional irish music, this is a second album from concert session pairing this tradional irish band with well known musicians mostly troubadors of country music. The first alblum is called of course "The Old Plank Road" . "Further.." is available from the Victor record label #82876-52897-2, I got mine from towerrecords.com. I also have a recording of the song from German countertenor Andeas Scholl the album is "Wayfaring Stranger-Folksongs". the concept of this recording is to take the old European songs back from America and reinterpret them by a modern European singer. The Songcather second soundtrack albun (not songs from the movie, but old folksong that "inspired" the movie has a great version of "Black Jack Davey" |
Subject: RE: Origins: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,stace Date: 12 Jun 04 - 11:01 AM do any of you know of the irish band the raggle taggle gypsies and where i can get info on them?? |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: hobbitwoman Date: 09 Mar 04 - 09:14 PM There's a recording of The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy on Further Down the Old Plank Road, performed by The Chieftans with Nickel Creek. Or Nickel Creek with The Chieftans. Not sure which. :o) |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Leadfingers Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:26 PM An old mate ( Louis Robinson by name) was in a 'Folk Group' which did gigs in a lot of NON Folk venues. They used to get a lot of requests for various versions of this song, and rather than learn them all or tell the customer they didnt know the song, Louis wrote a song that would fit , Whichever was requested. The song he wrote is called :- 'The Raggle Taggle Black Jack Gypsy Davey Came Whistling Over The Hill With Six of His Mates' - IF any one wants this posted , Just ASK. |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,DeadMan Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:05 PM Hi! I have the song on my computer, so if you know of a possible way to copy it you're welcome to do so. DeadMan |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: IanC Date: 21 Mar 03 - 04:39 AM Well, actually, some of the earlier English versions have similar realism ... "The gold ring on her finger's gone, and the gold plate on her bosom" for example. :-) |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Desert Dancer Date: 21 Mar 03 - 01:21 AM Hmm. Sounds like a 20th century addition to me! (Good though.) ~ Becky |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: robinia Date: 20 Mar 03 - 01:32 AM I like the "realistic" note on which an Appalachian version of the song (as sung by Jean Ritchie) ends: "Oh soon this lady changed her mind/ her clothes grew old and faded/ Her hose and shoes came off her feet/ and left them bare and naked. Just what befell this lady now/ I think it worth relating/ Her gypsy found another lass/ and left her heart a-breaking." |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: open mike Date: 19 Mar 03 - 02:34 AM we used to sing this in girl scouts.. probably what prompted me to run away from suburbia and live in a tipi on a commune! i have to check out the thread on The Beatniks and the Hippies... I represent that!! |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Desert Dancer Date: 19 Mar 03 - 01:37 AM Thanks for pointing me to the right thread, Malcolm. ~ Becky |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 18 Mar 03 - 07:52 PM Sharp's book was actually published in America, though a similar edition appeared (under a different title) a little later in the UK. For at least some of the answers to the ah-de-doo question, see the second part of the discussion Gypsy Rover a real folk song. |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Desert Dancer Date: 18 Mar 03 - 07:33 PM There are two popular written sources likely responsible for some of the dispersion of the Raggle-Taggle version among 20th century revival singers, neither of which are mentioned in this discussion: Cecil Sharp's One Hundred English Folk Songs, a likely source for many folkies on the east side of the pond, and on the west, virtually the same version is in the Fireside Book of American Folk Songs. I'd like to know where the "ah-dee-doo" chorus comes from. I remember it from the Kingston Trio, but who was singing it before that, anyone in the American stringband tradition? (This is where I want a copy of Bronson...) ~ Becky in Tucson |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Arne Langsetmo Date: 12 Oct 02 - 01:16 PM My favourite version is the House Band's, on their CD "October Song" (Green Linnet, GLCD 1190). Their song title is "Seven Yellow Gypsies", but it's the same. A wicked haunting accompaniment, which should give an idea why many people thought the fiddle the Devil's instrument. . . Other CD tracks good too, including the title song. Cheers, -- Arne Langsetmo |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: belfast Date: 12 Oct 02 - 08:24 AM Talk about the meaning and origins of the song prompts me to add this.Here's a bit from a play "Paddy on the Road" about Christy Moore. Christy has been talking about Ewan MacColl. His companion PJ agrees but… "PJ: MacColl was a great man certainly. But some of his acolytes were an awful pain in the arse. I was standing at the bar one night and I'm listening to Christy singing The Raggle Taggle Gypsies and this fella turns to me and says "That's a terribly interesting ballad. There are versions of it all over Europe. But, as Ewan says, you can never really appreciate such a ballad unless you subject it to a Marxist analysis. This song, you see, is a paradigm of the class struggle. The lady in the ballad has abandoned the ruling class and, in the most profound way possible, has displayed her solidarity with one of the oppressed sectors of society. It foretells, in a sense, the Socialist Revolution and the inevitable victory of the proletariat." And he drones on like this for about twenty minutes. I take a slug of me pint and says, "Is that a fact now? And here's me thinking it was about some hussy runnin' off with a pack of gippoes" Oh, I know. I know! We don't use language like that any more. We don't talk about gippoes and tinkers; we talk about travellers. But there's some people who will be very bloody careful to use the word "travellers" and still treat the people behind the word like shite." |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: Nerd Date: 11 Oct 02 - 01:09 PM Funny this thread is back up. I'm teaching a class on Folklore and just this week I used Planxty, the Waterboys, and a Danish band called Moving Cloud (Irish music from Denmark!) all performing essentially the Prosperous/Christy Moore/John Reilly version of "Raggle-Taggle Gypsies" to show the ways a single version or arrangement of a traditional song can "make the rounds" becoming a standard of the folk revival scene. I also used Thin Lizzy and Metallica (!) doing "Whiskey in the Jar." |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: MikeOQuinn Date: 11 Oct 02 - 05:31 AM I have a recording of this song on Carlos Núñez's album "Os Amores Libres." I had heard of Núñez prior to this album as a vocalist, but I had never known that he played the pipes as well, which he does with remarkable skill. (The version of "The Raggle-Taggle Gipsy" on this album, for example, is followed by an absolutely smoking rendition of "Itchy Fingers." The two tunes work great together!) I also like the Gaita (galician bagpipes) that Núñez plays off and on throughout this album. It's different, but very worthwhile. -J |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: old moose Date: 11 Oct 02 - 12:34 AM Back in fifty seven (middle of last century)alongside my research on "Edward, My Son Edward" and "Lord Randall, MY Son" I did a search in the publications on "The Raggle Taggle Gypsies" and had about two hundred and fifty citations; Lord Randal and Edward had a great many more. Some of the citations dated to the fourteen hundreds. The conclusion reached by my professor and myself was to the effect that "The Gypsies" as we called it was an early retelling of the Orfeus myth in a form that could be sung and understood by the audiences of the times. No way of knowing, of course, how many permutations it had gone through, nor has it stopped changing as time goes. I quit working on it because of time considerations; also it seemed a daunting project for a quarters terminal. It would certainly be worse now. Good for a master's thesis at least. I had no desire to go to graduate school then and now in my seventies--naah. Run for it somebody. |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Jim Clark..London..England Date: 10 Oct 02 - 08:38 PM I have videoed several musicians playing this superb song..you camn hear one in the folk sounds section of my acoustic musicians and poets sound archive MSN website acoustic musicians and poets sound archive |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,johnnie Date: 09 Oct 02 - 11:29 PM the waterboys - room to roam cd - best one there is |
Subject: RE: The Raggle-Taggle Gypsy From: GUEST,Zorikh Date: 15 Sep 02 - 03:39 PM I've spent most of the day researching this song, it's origins, variants etc. I first heard the Dave Alvin version ("Blakjack David") and thought I might sing it at a SCA event because it sounded sort of petiod-ish and has a romantic theme. I like how his version makes it uncertain whether David and the lady will make love together on the "cold cold ground" or will join in a mutual suicide pact or a killed by her husband. This song is a facinating textbook example of how a universal theme can be turned into a song with local pesons of fact, fiction, history, and legend, and then changes as it is passed down from hand to hand, culture to culture. |
Share Thread: |
Subject: | Help |
From: | |
Preview Automatic Linebreaks Make a link ("blue clicky") |