Origins: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk

Subject: ADD: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk
From: Joe Offer
Date: 27 Mar 23 - 06:01 PM

Is "Plaisir d'amor" the standard melody for this song? Not in this version, but it's close.

https://maxhunter.missouristate.edu/songinformation.aspx?ID=103

WALK, SHEPHERDESS, WALK

VERSE 1
Walk shepherdess walk
And I'll walk too
We'll find the ram with the ebony horns
And the gold footed ewe

VERSE 2
The lamb with fleece of silver
Like summer sea foam
The wether with its golden bell
That leads them all home

VERSE 3
So, walk shepherdess walk
And I'll walk too
And if we never find them
I sha'nt mind, shall you

Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index:

Walk, Shepherdess, Walk

DESCRIPTION: "Walk, Shepherdess, walk, And I'll walk too, To find the ram with the ebony horn An the gold-footed ewe," plus a silver-fleeces lamb and a crystal-belled wether. "And if we never find them, I shan't mind, shall you?"
AUTHOR: Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1965) (source: Sanders-SingHighSingLow)
EARLIEST DATE: words 1916, music 1919 ("Nursery Rhymes of London Town, according to Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs)
KEYWORDS: sheep shepherd travel campsong
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Averill-CampSongsFolkSongs, p. 342, "Walk, Shepherdess, Walk" (notes only)
Sanders-SingHighSingLow, p. 43, "Shepherdess Walk" (1 text, 1 tune)
ChansonsDeNotreChalet, p. 51, "Walk, Shepherdess, Walk" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #15819
NOTES [14 words]: For a little background on Eleanor Farjeon, see the notes to "Morning Has Broken." - RBW
Last updated in version 6.5
File: ACSF342W

---

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2023 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.

Subject: RE: Origins: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 28 Mar 23 - 03:19 PM

Oooh, haven't thought of this lovely song in a long time!
I see it was written by Eleanor Farjeon – didn't know that! My dad used to sing it; he's not a folkie so I assumed it was a pop song from his youth.

Joe, did you listen to the sound file at the link you provided? It's definitely the same melody I remember my dad singing (and not "Plaisir d'Amour").

I might have to have a go at it at the next Worldwide Sing (if I get there soon enough)!

Subject: REG: Origins: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk
From: GUEST,Guest Joan F
Date: 30 Mar 23 - 07:26 PM

I got my song from the camp counselors at Camp Libby, the Girl Scout Camp in southern Michigan, of which my sister was eventually one (such counselor) though they didn't put me in her unit. Presumably the counselors got their songs when they were campers; my sister did, & at one point typed up the lyrics to her favorites. There *is* a circulating book of camp songs somewhere, but counselors didn't have it in the '50s, & it has words, not tunes, I don't think?

My tune is what I learned & is not far off Max Hunter's source-singer's tune; I will bet she didn't read round-notes either.

Subject: RE: Origins: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk
From: Mrrzy
Date: 31 Mar 23 - 04:15 PM

This song feels like 1970...

Subject: RE: Origins: Walk, Shepherdess, Walk
From: GUEST,Guest Joan F
Date: 02 Apr 23 - 08:15 AM

But I learned it in the late '50s, in southern Michigan Girl Scout Camp, Max Hunter collected it in '50s Arkansas.