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Subject: Lyr Add: PEGGY GORDON From: Liam's Brother Date: 07 May 00 - 11:44 AM I've always thought of Peggy Gordon as a song of Nova Scotia origin; it is in Helen Creighton's Maritime Folk Songs, for example, and I can't recall coming across it in any Scots folk song books.
A few weeks ago, I came across "Sweet Maggie Gordon" in a circa 1884 New York vaudeville songster...
Oh! I wish my love and I were sailing,
Chorus:
Oh! the sea is deep; I cannot cross over,
I wish I had a glass of water, I hear a strong echo of "Carrickfergus" in this song. Therefore I would be inclined to think this is a song made made in North America with some Old World verses and some new ones. The Creighton version has another echo of Carrickfergus in the 10th and last verse... "I'll sing no more till I get a drink." Does anyone have any info to share on the origins of this rarely collected but (today) very popular song?
All the best,
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: George Seto - af221@chebucto.ns.ca Date: 07 May 00 - 02:24 PM I know Peggy Gordon, but had always assumed it was trad from the "old country". Is it familiar to others from the other side of the "pond"? |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Dave (the ancient mariner) Date: 07 May 00 - 02:38 PM One of my favourite Forebitters Peggy Gordon was popular with sailors in Lancashire, I think it was originally from Britain possibly Scots.. Yours, Aye. Dave |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: John Moulden Date: 07 May 00 - 06:52 PM Here are some references to Peggy Gordon - astonishingly they are almost all from Canada and since they are taken from Steve Roud's Song Index which now has 93K+ entries of song versions in Britain, Ireland, North America and Australia, it indicates that the song was probably unknown to traditional singers elsewhere. There are obvious relationships with Carrickfergus, The Water is Wide etc all of which have had airings recently in various threads.
At present, it looks as if Dan's Songster is the oldest known report of this song and it is notable that one of the versions (7 here - the numbering is arbitrary) has a first line identical with that printed in the songster. PEGGY GORDON 1 |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: GUEST,Paul Burke Date: 07 May 00 - 07:04 PM I always liked the idea of putting my head to a cask of brandy. Has anyone tried this?
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Dave (the ancient mariner) Date: 07 May 00 - 07:14 PM A long straw works better mate... |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: John Moulden Date: 07 May 00 - 07:23 PM Please note that those nine refs above represent only 7 reports. I should have checked each of the books mentioned above for further refs - Helen Creighton (and Doreen Senior - Trad Songs from Nova Scotia) cites "Maggie Godden" in J H Cox: Folk Songs from the South" and another version of her own collecting called "Maggie Gordon" - she also points out similarities to "Waly Waly" and to "Little Sparrow" (Paul Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana) and to "Youth and Folly" also from Cox FS of the South |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Liam's Brother Date: 07 May 00 - 08:01 PM Dear John, Thank you very much for the references to Folk-Songs of the South. You are, as always, Chief of the Folk Song Detective Squad. I don't know whether you have Folk-Songs of the South. If you don't, let me know and I'll keep an eye out for you. Some Mudcatters might want to know that it is a collection of West Virginia songs. It's Maggie Gordon is very, very close to the songster version. By the way, as a special treat, the songster version was quoted "As sung by Dennis F. Murphy, the Irish Nightingale."
All the best, |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Abby Sale Date: 07 May 00 - 08:31 PM It is suggested that "Oh, Johnny, Johnny" is a sex-changed version of this and seems to be to me. See Sam Henry's Songs of the People, p392. But in this case, John would know - maybe just another of the hundreds of "Waly Waly" generic varients. It does give an Irish branch of it, though, as requested. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Susan A-R Date: 07 May 00 - 09:50 PM Interesting, when Tony Cuffe does Caledonia (When first I went to Calednia, I god loading at number three and I got boarding at Donald Norman's, He had a daughter who made good tea) he tells about the song being about the pit mines up in Nova Scotia. The song also has the verse about putting his head to a cask of brandy. Yet another canada connection, of course, who settled those areas, and what phrases from their traditions did they bring with them, and what phrases sprang up this side of the pond? Susan A-R |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: John Moulden Date: 08 May 00 - 06:55 AM Dan's praise is hardly justified; there are many of us who bring special knowledge and interest to bear on these problems. I especially appreciate Bruce Olsen, Sandy Paton and Abby Sale - as well as Dan himself - and others. My advantage is that I can draw on Steve Roud's indices, a large personal library and the resources of the Irish Traditional Music Archive; but thanks, Dan! Abby's suggestion opens another can of worms. The song, "Johnny Johnny" he mentions is closely related to all the "O Waly, waly" but also connects with all those songs which begin "Love is pleasing ..." Also "Caledonia" does seem connected. It seems to me that we would be well served if someone would make a compendium of all the songs which share "floating" verses and begin to identify patterns. The basic unit of learning and the basic identifying term in what we sing and what some of us study, is the "song." It seems to me that in lyrical songs where verses interchange, land and borrow, the unit of learning may be the verse, and the song is only identifiable from the particular verses of which it comprises. Typical of me to raise a question and then run. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Abby Sale Date: 08 May 00 - 07:41 AM :-). I like to group song versions under one heading and call them all varients of that group. I'm a grouper. But this song group is a good example of when it can get silly to try. Cross-reference, yes, but not equate. As John says, sometimes it only makes sense to look at the verses. This is what Sam Hinton calls a "wandering folksong." And what television producers call "an all-new situation comedy." |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Liam's Brother Date: 08 May 00 - 08:04 AM When First I Went to Caledonia (from Songs & Stories from Deep Cove Cape Breton) is a song in 2 parts really. The first 5 verses are lyrics shared elsewhere...
1. I wish I were a maid again The last 4 comprise a cohesive narrative song...
1. When first I went to Caledonia I think it's interesting (not fascinating, just interesting) that the floaters appear at the beginning of the song rather than at the end. Regarding Peggy Gordon, is it safe to say that the choices are... 1. Product of New York vaudeville stage, recovered almost intact in West Virginia, went into tradition in Nova Scotia aquiring floating verses and a newer name, or... 2. Nova Scotia traditional song which was brought to New York vaudeville stage, then turned up almost intact in WV. Any thoughts?
All the best, |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: John Moulden Date: 08 May 00 - 12:13 PM You takes your choice! Me, I hedge my bets! Until evidence comes along that is. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 08 May 00 - 01:46 PM The Library of Congress Music for the Nation archive has a piano arrangement -as a waltz- of Sweet Maggie Gordon published by Mrs. Pauline Lieder (New York 1880); the arrangement is credited to one Ned Straight, and his portrait adorns the front cover, but he doesn't appear to claim the text, which is practically the same as the one Dan quotes. The differences seem typical of oral transmission, to me at any rate: ^^ I wish my love and I were sailing As far from land as far can be, Far across the deep blue water Where I'd have none to trouble me. The sea is deep, I can't swim over Neither have I the wings to fly, But I will hire some jolly sportsman To carry o'er my love and I. I wish I had a glass of brandy The reason I will tell to thee, Because when drinking I am thinking Does my true love remember me. Chorus: Sweet Maggie Gordon you are my bride Come sit you down upon my knee And tell to me the very reason Why I am slighted thus by thee. Also in the archive are two copies of an instrumental (piano) arrangement of the melody, by Jas. J. Freeman (1881; same publisher, same front and back covers.) The melody is not one I recognise, but then I've only ever heard Peggy Gordon sung to a variant of the Banks of Sweet Primroses tune. Malcolm |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: The Shambles Date: 08 May 00 - 05:24 PM All good stuff but......
Didn't Mr and Mrs Gordon just, kinda get together, one night? Sorry but I have just tried the head in the cask of brandy idea. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: raredance Date: 08 May 00 - 09:24 PM This is just to throw in another recorded version of "Peggy Gordon", also Canadian. Charles Jordon sings the Helen Creighton credited version on the 9 LP set "Canadian Folk songs, A Centennial Collection" (1966). Alan Mills wrote the notes for this collection, but his comments do not add to anything already mentioned above. rich r |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: John Moulden Date: 09 May 00 - 08:32 AM The "Banks of Sweet Primroses" variant is the tune given by Helen Creighton in Maritime Songs and in Traditional Songs from Nova Scotia. Now what's its more recent performance history? Who started it in Irish currency? |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Richard Bridge Date: 09 May 00 - 04:02 PM I know someone who has sung this for over 30 years (I first heard him sing it that long ago) and he is haveing a singing session on Sunday at his pub, so I will try to rmeember to ask him. He used to be in the fairly well known (By UK standards of 30 years ago) Crayfolk. |
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Subject: Lyr Add: PEGGY GORDON From: raredance Date: 11 May 00 - 11:06 PM There have been several mentions to the Helen Creighton collected version of Peggy Gordon and printed in "Maritime Folksongs". The version in the DT has notes saying that it was collected in Nova Scotia by Helen Creighton. HOwever the DT version is not the Helen Creighton one. For the record here it is. ^^ PEGGY GORDON Oh Peggy Gordon you are my darling, Come sit you down all on my knee, And tell to me the very reason Why I am slighted so by thee. I'm deep in love but I dare not show it, My heart lies smothered all in my breast, It's not for you to let the whole world know it, A troubled mind that has no rest. I laid my head on a cask of brandy Which was my fancy I do declare, For while I'm drinking, I'm always thinking How I'm to gain that lady fair. I put my back against an oak tree Thinking it was a trusty tree, But first it bent and then it broke, And that's the way my love served me. I wish my love was one red rosy A-planted down on yonder wall, And I myself could be a dewdrop That in her bosom I might fall. I wish I was in Cupid's castle And my true love along with me, Oh Peggy Gordon, you are my darling, Oh Peggy Gordon, I'd die for thee. The sea is deep, I cannot wade it, Neither have I got wings to fly But I wish I had some jolly boatman To ferry over my love and I. I will go down to some lonesome valley, Where no womankind is ever to be found, Where the pretty little birds do change their voices And every moment a different sound. I wish I was as far as Ingo Way out across the briny sea, A-sailing over the deep blue water Where love nor care never trouble me. I wish I was in Spencervania Where the marble stones are black as ink, Where the pretty little girls they do adore me, I'll sing no more till I get a drink. Alan Mills has suggested that the last verse, especially the last line was a device for the singer to get a little payment before he would do another song. rich r |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Steve Parkes Date: 12 May 00 - 03:28 AM It's cheered me up to see this song given a Nova Scotia origin. I learned it years ago from someone who'd learned it in the sixties from a man who actually came from there, and I used to introduce it as such. But I soon founds that any Scots in the audience would claim it as Robert Burns! (Although why any self-respecting Scot would wish himself in England, I don't know, but there seem to be a lot of 'em!) I know RB smartened up a lot of trad songs, and I can easily believe that many songs crossed the Atlantic in the Clearances. What with floating verses and all, I expect Peggy Gordon must have a number of ancestors and descendants on both side of the Pond. Steve |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: shankmac Date: 12 May 00 - 05:08 AM Ihave an Irish Ballad Song book which claims the origin of this song to be Scottish and it is unlike the Irish to give the Scots credit for any songs (all good songs being Irish) but I know a verse which is not in this book.
I wish I were away in Ingol, I have idea where Ingol is. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: GUEST,Zorro Date: 12 May 00 - 07:51 AM Re: Shankmac's post. Could Ingol, be England. The Corries have a beautiful recording of the song and unless my ears are overwaxed, they are saying: "I wish I were away in England, or out upon the briny sea....." The Corries were Scottish. I've always thought it was a traditional scot song, but have never cared enough to ask. I'm glad someone did, the postings make interesting reading. Z |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: DonD Date: 12 Mar 03 - 05:20 PM I was singing this song -- in the shower, as usual -- and followed it up with 'Fyveo' for the shampoo, and it suddenly struck me that Peggy Gordon is Pretty Peggy-o! I've taken to singing a combined version of interspersed (almost) verses : the narrative of the Irish Dragoons carries on until Peggy-o tells the captain that she'll never marry a soldier, and then he responds with his plaint about Peggy Gordon mistreating him. I have him asking for the 'very reason you are discourteous so to me', and bewailing the depth of his love. The colonel then calls the troop to mount and the captain asks for more time, followed by a resprise of the first Peggy Gordon verse and the 'cask of brandy' verse. No wonder the troopers have their (drunken) captain to carry and then to bury! The end of the Fyveo tale calls for a final mournful/ghostly reprise of the first Peggy Gordon verse, and it seems to me a complete and effective picture. What do you think of that? |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: mg Date: 12 Mar 03 - 08:35 PM Her name was Peggy MacPhee, wasn't it? mg |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: GUEST,Q Date: 12 Mar 03 - 09:10 PM I can't see much correspondence between Peggy Gordon and Peggy O (Usually "Pretty Peggy of Derby"). See broadsides in the Bodelian Library. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 12 Mar 03 - 09:44 PM I too see no significant correspondence. As has been pointed out earlier in this old, recently-revived thread, Peggy/Maggy Gordon seems to be a late 19th century remake from Anglo-Scottish sources. The apparently unrelated Pretty Peggy of Derby, on the other hand, (despite its location in England in older versions) seems to be Irish or Scottish in origin (Bruce Olson has given specifics in earlier discussions on the subject). When somebody drags an old thread back from the dead like this, one unfortunate consequence is that all the more recent discussions are disregarded, and people start to re-post the same information (and misinformation) that has already appeared elsewhere and been dealt with. One step forward, three steps back as often as not. It is not yet too late to avoid this! There is a quite good search engine here, after all. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: DonD Date: 12 Mar 03 - 11:29 PM Sorry for treading on purist toes! I intended no significant correspondence. As much as I respect and enjoy the amazing erudition of Malcolm Douglas and others, I was seeking a reaction to the performance possibilities. Songs of very different provenances are put together in medleys when they share a common theme or cast different lights on a subject. All of the discussion from the past about the migrations of Miss Gordon's story haven't convinced me that her first name was Peggy or Maggie, or that she even ever existed outside some balladeer's imagination. And McPhee? That's a new one to me. Is the slighted male ever identified anywhere by name or otherwise? On the other hand, were there really Irish Dragoons marching through Fife, and was there really a captain named Ned who died of love? And what's the proper name of the town where they had to carry him, which is spelled various ways in different transcriptions? The substance of the tale is that poor Ned was slighted by some Peggy whom he might very well have called his darling, and that her brusque 'kiss-off' of his proposal would warrant a complaint that she was slighting him or treating him discourteously. In short, if any listener were ever to hear my mingling/mangling of the sacred texts and like it and learn it and repeat it and disseminate it, it might be someday be traced back to its two unrelated origins. Isn't that the folk process that's discussed above and in so many threads and scholarly papers? |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Boab Date: 13 Mar 03 - 01:38 AM First time I ever heard "Peggy Gordon" sung was in a folk club in Northumberland England 'way back in 1965. The lads who sang and played stated its origins as Robert Burns; but being something of a "Burnsian",I cast my doubts. I haven't come across anything which would lead me to change my mind on that. I was surprised, frankly, to find so many references to the song in the Americas. That it may have its origins here never entered my mind.I have been prepared to accept that it could be a Scots song, but to me it has the "feel" of Irish origin. "it was my fancy, I do declare" doesn't come across as Scots usage---but has a very definite suggestion of Irish, or even English language structure. No matter where it's from, it's a grand wee song---and I was singing it yesterday, just me an' the squeezebox! |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: GUEST,Aber Don Date: 13 Mar 03 - 02:45 PM Bonny DonD - The song doesn't mention Fife but Fyvie in Aberdeenshire hence the mention of a variety of other locations in that area. |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: GUEST,Murray on Saltspring Date: 13 Mar 03 - 03:34 PM DonD: I think what you're doing there is quite ingenious, combining two songs (however unrelated they really are). More power to you. Though it's true that a future investigator may get the wrong idea! |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Teribus Date: 14 Mar 03 - 06:53 AM I've always heard this song claimed by both Scots and Irish, interesting to see the Nova Scotia contender. The Corries sing "I wish I was away in Ingle," In the Irish versions "I wish I was away in Eigle," DonD: "were there really Irish Dragoons marching through Fife," As someone above has said it wasn't Fife but the town of Fyvie, and Irish Dragoons most certainly, possibly as part of Montrose's forces. One story goes that the townsfolk of Aberdeen were so terrified of this particular contingent that Montrose stopped them short of Aberdeen and quartered them in Fyvie. Their Captain became enamoured of a daughter of the house, who rejected his advances and poisoned him. "what's the proper name of the town where they had to carry him, which is spelled various ways in different transcriptions?" Noo lang ere we cam Tae auld Meldrum town We had oor Captain tae carry-o And lang ere we cam Tae bonnie Aberdeen We had oor captain tae bury-o |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Snuffy Date: 14 Mar 03 - 09:51 AM Meldrum is near Stirling: Oldmeldrum is between Fyvie and Aberdeen |
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Subject: RE: Peggy Gordon: Origin From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 14 Mar 03 - 02:07 PM What are nowadays thought of as typical Scottish and Irish "versions" of Peggy/Maggie Gordon don't seem to date back further than the 1960s; they all seem to derive from published example(s) found in Canada and subsequently recorded by popular Revival performers. Whatever the ultimate source(s) of the song -and attempting to place all the floating verses of which it is made is practically impossible, so often do they occur in so many related and unrelated songs- its modern travels are really a separate issue from a consideration of its origins. The fact that the tune to which it is sung nowadays is that most associated with the English Banks of the Sweet Primroses further clouds the matter, perhaps. On reflection, I see no reason to exclude -as I had suggested earlier- an Irish source (at least in part) for the American and Canadian sets, but the same arguments apply at least equally to possible Scottish and English traditional sources; on the whole I think it pointless to make outright claims for any. Certainly, the song in its present form is a direct product of none of them; all we can say is that it was put together in America and/or Canada, using material drawn from the common stock of Britain and Ireland, and set to a tune which was subsequently abandoned in favour of a traditional one. This is really only to summarise what was said when this discussion was originally started nearly three years ago. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 11:14 AM The New York Herald of Nov. 9, 1884, printed an interview with an unnamed New York City ballad publisher, who said, among other things: "Some songs attain a great popularity for no merit of their own. They are sung from the stage by some popular performer, and those who hear them go home and spread the melodies. 'Sweet Maggie Gordon' is a good sample of the trash that succeeds. Here is a verse and the chorus:— I wish I had a glass of water— I will tell you the reason why: While I am drinking I am thinking Of my true love, with a sigh. CHORUS. Sweet Maggie Gordon, you are my bride; Come and sit thee on my knee, And tell to me the reason Why I am slighted so by thee. Now that song had a tremendous run among the shop-girls of this city, although it did not sell in the country at all." |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Nerd Date: 01 Feb 09 - 11:27 AM To build on Lighter's observation, on December 17, 1938, Herbert Halpert collect a song called "Sweet Peggy Gordon" from Mort Montonyea of Sloatsburg, New York. Although I haven't heard the recording, it does sound from the title like the "missing link" between "Sweet Maggie Gordon" and "Peggy Gordon." |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: meself Date: 01 Feb 09 - 11:35 AM "To build on Lighter's observation, on December 17, 1938," I believe Peggy Gordon was still alive in 1938 - why didn't he just ask her who she slighted, and where and when? |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:50 PM I don't know what that is supposed to mean. John Moulden listed references in the Roud Folk Song Index earlier in this discussion (nearly nine years ago); the Index is now available online, so interested people can consult it directly for themselves via the website of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library at http://library.efdss.org/: Roud Folk Song Index 'Peggy Gordon' is assigned Roud Number 2280, though one reference has inadvertently been inserted under number 2180 (a typo which will be corrected). 'Sweet Peggy Gordon' is listed, but without a number assigned because the text has not yet been checked. Other useful online catalogue listings: Sweet Peggy Gordon / Mort Montonyea [sound recording] - American Folklife Center: Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog entry. Peggy Gordon - instances in the Helen Creighton Collection, Nova Scotia Archives. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: meself Date: 01 Feb 09 - 02:56 PM "I don't know what that is supposed to mean." Sorry, Malcolm - that was one of those "facetious remarks" you referred to in the other thread ... I do appreciate your comments and information on this song, which has long been a favourite of mine. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Nerd Date: 01 Feb 09 - 03:53 PM Thanks, Malcolm. Two of the recordings from Creighton's collections are also in the AFC archive, those by Dennis Smith and Nina Bartley Finn. (Creighton undertook collecting work funded by the Library of Congress, so we have about a thousand items recorded by her.) They are probably the same recordings listed by the Nova Scotia Archives, with the original copy going to LC and the derivative copy retained by Helen Creighton, ultimately to wind up at the Nova Scotia Archives. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Dennis the Elder Date: 01 Feb 09 - 06:16 PM Thanks Malcolm for the connection to the Roud Folk Song Index, what a great resourse. I went into that area and found the reference to Sweet Peggy Gordon you quoted and its listing in an publication in the USA called the "Old Arm Chair Songster" With this song were listed 16 other songs including the following The Girl I left behind me The Jolly Miller Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor and The Rose of Allandale I do not believe it can be argued that none of these 4 songs could not have originated form the British Isles and Ireland. Certainly the Rose of Allandale is I strongly believe Scottish and Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor in my humble opinion English. I could therefore be concluded that the book of folk songs previously mentioned included songs that did not originate in North America. This throws open the argument once again, in which country did this wonderful song originate from? It would be interesting to find if there were any references to Miss Gordon prior to 1860. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 01 Feb 09 - 07:28 PM None that scholars are aware of so far, it would appear; though such may well turn up at some point. The question isn't closed. If it were, though, the example you mention wouldn't 'throw open the argument once again' at all. Perhaps you aren't familiar with the subject of C19 songsters. These typically included a wide range of material drawn from a wide range of sources, new and old, from various countries. The fact that some of the texts in a songster are old or demonstrably from a particular country tells us nothing whatever about any of the other songs, and you would be on very shaky ground indeed trying to draw any conclusions on that basis. To take one example only, you are quite wrong about 'The Rose of Allandale', which is an English song of known authorship (see various discussions here on the subject) and belief or opinion, whether 'humble' or not, is no substitute for knowledge supported by evidence; which is what we have been trying to arrive at here insofar as such a thing is possible. You may be confusing the points being made in this thread, which concerns the origins of 'Peggy Gordon' and in which no firm conclusions have been reached, with the other thread currently running, which concerns the meaning of one single word found in one single, specifically Nova Scotian, version of the song; and where it has proved necessary several times to re-iterate that in an attempt to keep the discussion at least moderately on-topic. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 08:47 PM Again the plot thickens. The Library of Brown University contains a broadside published in Boston, apparently by William Rutter, which consists of two songs, one called "The Wonders" (first line: "Your laughter I'll try to provoke"), and the other "Peggy [not 'Maggie'] Gordon" (first line: "Sweet Peggy Gordon you are my darling"). The unconfirmed date is reckoned as "1829-34." The Bodleian has several copies of "The Wonders" under the title of "The Hole in the Ballad." As "The Cabinet of Wonders," it has been attributed to Charles Dibdin (died 1814) and to "Charles Dibdin, Jr." Thus the "1829-24" date for the broadside seems quite plausible. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 08:57 PM Charles Dibdin, Jr.'s dates are 1768-1834. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Feb 09 - 09:49 PM A little group of songs collected by Cox in West Virginia is related to "Peggy Gordon," but they add little to origins. All have floating verses from other songs; the 'parlor song' influence is strong. Since they are among the earlier versions collected, it is interesting to put them here so that they may be compared. Lyr. Add: MAGGIE GODDON 1 I wish I was once a-sailing As far from land as could be, Far across the deep blue waters, Where I have no one to trouble me. Chorus: Sweet Maggie Goddon, you are my bride; Come set you down upon my knee; Tell to me the very reason Why I was slighted just by thee. 2 The sea is deep, I can't swim over, Neither have I the wings to fly; There I hear some jolly sportsman, To carry over the love and I. 3 I wish I had a glass of brandy, I'll tell you the reason why; While drinking, I am thinking, Does my true love remember me? This confused little song is mentioned above, but it contributes little to the 'origins'. Collected by Cox in 1918 from a Mr. Boggs, "learned about forty years ago from his brother, who was killed shortly after at Ashland, KS, by cowboys." No. 142, p. 424. See ref. below. Cox compares it with "Youth and Folly," collected in 1916. Lyr. Add: YOUTH AND FOLLY 1. Youth and folly make youngsters marry, And when they're married they must obey; For many a bright and sunshiny morning Has turned to a dark and rainy day. 2 O love is warming, O love is charming, Love's quite handsome while it's new! But as love grows older, love grows colder, And fades away like the morning dew. 3 It was all in the sweet month of April, While summer flowers were in their bloom, Trees were budding, sweet birds were singing; Times ain't with me as they have been. 4 Great Jehovah, have mercy on me! My comrades, come to set me free; I never courted but one fair lady; Her name was Polly, she told me. 5 Polly, O Polly, you are my darling! Come set yourself down awhile by me, And tell me the very reason Why I was slighted so by thee. 6 I am in love, I dare not own it, The very pain lies on my breast; I am in love, and the whole world knows it, That a troubled mind can find no rest. 7 I wish to God I never had seen you, Or in my cradle I had died; To think as nice a young man as I am Should be in love and be denied. 8 I wish I was on some stormy ocean, As far from land as I could be; And sailing for some better country Where there no grief could trouble me. Parts of old parlor songs seem co-mingled here. Some of the verses appear in another song collected by Cox (no date given), "Young Ladies (Little Sparrow)." No. 141, pp. 422-423 (See ref. below). Lyr. Add: YOUNG LADIES (LITTLE SPARROW) 140 A 1. Come all fair and handsome ladies, Take warning how you court young men; For they're like a bright star on a summer's morning, They first appear and then they're gone. 2 They'll tell to you some flattering story, And swear to God that they love you well, And away they'll go and court some other, And leave you here in grief to dwell. 3 I wish to God I never had seen him, Or in his cradle he had died; For to think so fair and handsome lady, Was one in love and be denied. 4 I wish I was in some tall mountain, Where the ivy rock is black as ink; I would write a letter to my false lover, Whose cheeks are like the morning pink. 5 I wish I was some little sparrow, And one of them that could fly so high; I would fly away to my true love's dwelling, And when he would speak I would be close by. 6 O I would flutter in his bosom With my little [ex]tended wings; I would ask him,. I would ask him, Whose tender heart he has tried to stain. 7 My troubles now are just beginning, My troubles like some mountain tall; O I'll sit down in grief and sorrow, And there I'll talk my troubles o'er. 8 Love is handsome, love is charming, Love is beauty when it's new; Love grows older, love grows colder, Fades away like morning dew. J. H. Cox, ed., 1925, "Folk-Songs of the South," Harvard Univ. Press; reprint Dover, 1967. No. 140 A, pp. 419-420. All three with lyrics only. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:12 PM Some stanzas appear in "The Primpenny Family," by Fitz-Hugh Ludlow, a story in the New York humor magazine Vanity Fair (Feb. 16, 1861, p. 75): I lay my head on a cask of brand-eye, It is my pleasure I dew declare, And while I'm drinkin', I still am thinkin', Haow I may win my lady fa-a-a-a-air! CHORUS-- Oh, PEGGY GORDON, you are my darlin'! Come sit you daown by the side o' me! And tell to me the ver-eye reason, Why I am slighted so by th-e-e-e-e-e-e! I wish I was in Covill Castle, Where the marble-stones is black as ink, Where all the putty ge-irls adore me! I'll sing no more until I dr-i-i-i-i-ink! The description of the old singer's technique is also interesting: "Mr. Kineboy threw his head back, assumed an expression of countenance proper to a gentleman in immediate view of his decease...but supposed by rural musicians to be eminently necessary for the correct renedering of melodies, and beat time with his boot...." Then, "in a voice retaining reminiscences of the night under the bridge which years had been unable to efface," he "poured forth the lament which delighted our grandfathers." |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:22 PM Can't find in songs of C. Dibdin, Jun., as collected in T. Dibdin, 1875, "Songs by Charles Dibdin," nor among those by T. Dibdin in that volume (some miscellaneous songs by others are included). Of course there is no reason to assume that the volume contains all the songs by these three. The style of Peggy, however, seems unlike that of C. Dibdin, Jun. There is a song "Peggy Perkins" in the Bodleian, attributed to Charles Dibdin, but unrelated, andalso not in the volume by Thomas Dibdin. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:40 PM SWEET MAGGIE GORDON Ned Straight, Arr. 1880 1 I wish my love and I were sailing, As far from land as far can be, Far, far across the deep blue water, Where I'd have none to trouble me. Chorus: Sweet Maggie Gordon you are my bride, Come sit you down upon my knee, And tell to me the very reason, Why I am slighted thus by me. 2 The sea is deep, I can't swim over, Neither have I the wings to fly, But I will hire some jolly sportsman, To carry o'er my love and I. 3 I wish I had a glass of Brandy, The reason I will tell to thee, Because when drinking I am thinking, Does my true love remember me. Sheet music, American Memory. The title page refers to Ned Straight as the composer. Pub. Mrs Pauline Lieder, NY, 1880. A note refers to the waltz, "Sweet Maggie Gordon Waltz," by J. J. Freeman. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:40 PM The younger Dibdin's song appeared as "The Irish Auctioneer" so early as 1807. I didn't mean to suggest that "Peggy Gordon" was ever attributed to him. But I agree that it isn't in the style of his known songs. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:53 PM Mrs. Pauline Lieder also published the song as a broadside, without music (copy at Enoch Pratt digital collection. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 01 Feb 09 - 11:11 PM And here's an odd version (without Peggy, though lines are evidently missing from stanza 1) collected in the 1930s from woodsman John Nichols, 84 years old, of Stratford, N.Y. (From Harold W. Thompson, "Body, Boots & Britches"): I'm deep in love, my mind is troubled, I know not where to wander to Since my own true love has turned from me. Come sit you down by the side of me And tell to me the very reason Why I've been slighted so by she. Now you have asked a leading question, I will answer this reply: If you expect a fair young lady, You must lay your whiskey by. If I must leave off all my drinkin' And settle down in married life, I'll bid adieu to all fair maidens And I'll never take a wife. I'll lay my head on a cask of brandy, It's my fancy, I do declare; But while I'm drinkin', I'm always thinkin' How I might gain some lady fair. The oceans're wide, I cannot wade them, Nor neither had I wings to fly, But must I hire some jolly boatswain To ferry o'er my love and I. I wish my love was a bunch of roses Planted down by yonder fall, ["wall"?] And that I myself was a pretty dewdrop, That on her bosom I might fall. I wish I was in Cold Castle's garden, Where the marble stones are as black as ink, And all those pretty girls adore me-- I'll sing no more until I drink. Regrettably, Thompson does not print the melody. "Cold Castle's garden" conceivably was once "old Castle Garden," the site of the State of New York Emigrant's [sic] Landing and Depot from 1855 to 1890. It was supplanted as an immigration center by Ellis Island, under Federal administration, in 1892. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 01 Feb 09 - 11:53 PM Interesting version. I don't think the song by Ned Straight is original, but so far I haven't found anything substantial that is earlier, just some verses that seem to be floaters. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Q (Frank Staplin) Date: 02 Feb 09 - 12:46 AM The date of the verses and chorus found in Vanity Fair (1861) by Lighter obviously places the song earlier. I hope a complete version can be found. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 02 Feb 09 - 12:54 AM Really only the first two of Cox's texts are at all relevant here. I quoted the Ned Straight 'Sweet Maggie Gordon' in this thread back in May 2000. At the time it was unclear how to find a stable URL for songsheets at LOC, but they give you clues nowadays: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/sm1880.01560 does it. As I mentioned at the time, Mr Straight didn't appear to claim the words, just the arrangement. Dennis wanted a reference earlier than 1860; no sooner said than done. Thanks, Jonathan. How did you turn up that Vanity Fair example? The set of 'Peggy Gordon' that Edith Fowke got from LaRena Clark in 1966 can now be seen as part of a 'limited preview' of Fowke's A Family Heritage: The Story and Songs of LaRena Clark (University of Calgary Press, 1994). See Peggy Gordon: LaRena Clark. It includes a larger than usual number of floaters, together with material from 'George Riley'. Fowke suggests that LaRena's form of the song might derive from 'When First I Came to the County Limerick', in Joyce, Old Irish Folk Music and Songs, and there are certainly notable parallels, though the text in Joyce (I haven't looked at the tune yet) is actually closer to 'When First I Came to Caledonia' and it or another version may very well have provided the model for the latter song. Joyce is available via the Internet Archive. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: meself Date: 02 Feb 09 - 01:12 AM It is interesting that in the Vanity Fair story of 1861, the narrator characterises Peggy Gordon as "the lament which delighted our grandfathers" - presumably, then, in the mind of the writer at least, the song was already fifty years old or more. (I suppose the narrator might as well have said, "the lament which will delight our great-grandchildren"). |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 02 Feb 09 - 09:15 AM Malcolm, I consulted ProQuest's American Periodicals Series 1740-1900 Online, available to me through my university library. This is a great resource in general, but the pickings are slim for traditional songs - perhaps even surprisingly so. Meself, it seems likely that Ludlow heard the song from a singer much like the one he describes. If "our grandfathers" refers to thirty rather than fifty years earlier, it would fit nicely with the "1829-34" date assigned to the Boston broadside. Even in those days, a song sung in Boston could have made its way to New York State rather quickly. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:32 AM The British Library holds a different Bostn broadside, dated to 1835, which has "Peggy Gordon" plus Allan Ramsey's song "The Blackbird." |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: pavane Date: 02 Feb 09 - 11:27 AM On the subject of Songsters, if you go to Google Books and enter just the word Songster, wou will see a large number of titles, of which a few are fully viewable. One at least dates back to 1784. I looked in that one, but is seems to be mainly "show" songs, with just the odd "Scotch ballad". There are also many from the early 1800's. I don't have time to check them all out, though. (You also get lots of hits about songbirds, of course) |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Amos Date: 08 Apr 09 - 12:16 PM AThabasca University has a very interesting PDF report on the life and song-gathering work of Helen Creighton, which can be downloaded at this link: auspace.athabascau.ca:8080/dspace/bitstream/2149/1643/1/Helen_Creighton.pdf (Click to download). |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: BobKnight Date: 08 Apr 09 - 03:07 PM Whatever the origins of the song, the name "Gordon," is Scottish. Clan Gordon, one of the major Scottish families, had their main headquarters at Huntly in Aberdeenshire, but many branches of the clan were spread throughout Aberdeenshire and further north. Peggy, I believe is a diminutive of Margaret, so that explains the minor conflict between the versions. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,mg Date: 08 Apr 09 - 03:56 PM I read somewhere that Peggy or something similar means pearl in Gaelic, as does Margaret in whatever language it is from (Norse?) So it would perhaps be a translation of Margaret. mg |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,mg Date: 08 Apr 09 - 04:11 PM Apparently Margaret comes from Persian via Greece..means Pearl. Peigi (?) means Pearl in Gaelic..Pegeen I believe is closest...mg |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: The Doctor Date: 08 Apr 09 - 05:37 PM Margaret is from the Greek 'Margarites', from 'margaron' a pearl, and ultimately, apparently, of Hebrew origin. The Greek word is also the source for 'margarine', since its inventor, van den Burgh, thought his initial product reminded him of pearls. The English have always been keen on shortening names, Mag, Madge and Rita too, changing vowels, Meg, producing rhymes, Peg, and then making pet forms, Maggie and Peggy. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: mg Date: 08 Apr 09 - 09:20 PM Except that the Gaelic word for pearl is similar to Pegeen to start with. mg |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: The Doctor Date: 10 Apr 09 - 06:06 AM Certainly there is a connection with the Gaelic, and I'm not enough of a linguist to know which came first, the chicken or the peg, but there are unexpected correspondences between seemingly unconnected languages, as with the Welsh for 'church', which is 'eglwys', very like the French 'eglise', which is ultimately from the Greek 'ecclesia'. There is almost certainly a straight forward explanation for that one, but with Peggy I expect it's one of those situations where there are several possibilities and we shall never know for sure. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Learaí na Láibe Date: 10 Apr 09 - 06:26 PM We're going slightly off-topic here - but I doubt if Peggy / Peigín means pearl in Gaelic. Peigín is just the diminutive of Peigí / Peggy, which I think is originally an English name. The Irish for pearl is 'péarla' |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Charley Noble Date: 10 Apr 09 - 08:03 PM Unless my memory is astray, and that's possible, I believe Peggy Seeger recorded this song on a Folkways album titled SONGS FOR YOU AND ME in the early 1960's; that's where I learned it from. The lyrics are similar to the Cox version from the Appalachians. Cheerily, Charley Noble |
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Subject: ADD Version: The Baron of Brackley From: GUEST Date: 03 Sep 10 - 03:13 PM I came across this thread to find out if there was a peggy gordon because I recently was listening to Connie Dover. In the Song "Baron O Brackley" Peggy Gordon was the baron's wife who betrayed him. I'm currently trying to find out if its the same person. James Connie Dover's lyrics added by Joe Offer The Baron of BrackleyDown Deeside rode Inverey a-whistlin' and playin'He alit at brave Brackley's gates ere it was dawn Cries Baron of Brackley it's are you within There are sharp swords at your gates would make your blood spin Up spoke the proud Baron from the castle wall Up spake his lady at his back where she lay How can I rise up and go out again She called on her ladies to come to her hand Arise Peggy Gordon and bring me my gun When Brackley was ready and stood in the close Strike dogs, cries Inverey, and fight till you're slain I'll stand here, cries Brackley, do you think I would fly Came ye by the castle and was ye in there She was ranting and dancing and singing for joy Oh fie on ye lady why did ye deceive Traditional Scottish A ballad based on an alleged real-life feud between John Gordon of Brackley and John Farquharson of Inverey, Braemar, whose cattle were impounded by Gordon in 1666 |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: BobKnight Date: 03 Sep 10 - 04:01 PM Not likely James - as I said in an earlier posting, the Gordons were one of the most powerful clans in Scotland, based in Aberdeenshire and further North. There are quite a few songs with names of females and males ending in "Gordon." Gordon is still a very common name in the North East of Scotland. Until just a few years ago, the local army regiment was The Gordon Highlanders, and there is even a Gordon Highlanders museum in Aberdeen. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST Date: 03 Sep 10 - 05:00 PM By way of further reply to James: Child cites various historical accounts, placing the "affray" between Brackley and Inverey in 1666. There is no suggestion that that Peggy Gordon (née Burnet) slighted anybody, before or after her husband was killed. Earlier posts in this thread suggest that the Peggy Gordon who did slight somebody would have been on the go a long while later, some time in the 1800s. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Teribus Date: 03 Sep 10 - 05:56 PM I wish I was away in Ingol Far across the briney sea Sailing over the deepest ocean Where love and care never bothered me The only place I have found in the British isles called Ingol is in/near Preston in Lancashire. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Gutcher Date: 03 Sep 10 - 06:10 PM The first Gordons in Scotland appear to have been Norman French and their first lands were in the Merse (Berwickshire)their residence being near a village called Huntlee in the west of that area. Robert the Bruce granted the lands of Strathbogie,in the North East, to Adam de Gordon (along with the daughter of David de Strathbogie to wife) around 1320. Gordon changed the name of the lands to Huntly, from which they derive their present title Marquis of Huntly. The Gordons of the South West and Galloway are descended from a second son of this Adam Gordon.There is still a town called Gordon in the Merse. To return to the music, "Peggie Gordon",sung in gaelic, is often played on Radio Nan Gaiheal the BBC gaelic station. Joe. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Gutcher Date: 03 Sep 10 - 06:49 PM At the end of the 19th C. beginning of the 20th. C. the date of the affray between Brackley and Inverey was widely debated and if I remember correctly the consensus at that time was in favour of the year 1588/89. The Inverey at that time was Lamont IN Inverey not Lamont OF Inverey The difference being to be IN meant that they were tenants not owners of the lands. The Lamonts at that time were notorious cattle thiefs. Farquerson of Invercauld was an educated,wealthy man who owned thousands of acres of land and who sent his sons to be educated on the Continent, not the type to be out stealing a few cattle from a neighbour. Joe. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: BobKnight Date: 03 Sep 10 - 10:10 PM Aye and Lamont isn't pronounced La MONT - that was an affectation by that prick Norman Lamont. The emphasis is on LAM. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Snuffy Date: 06 Sep 10 - 09:04 AM I recall reading (but can't remember where) that it was Brackley who had stolen Inverey's cattle, and Inverey had merely come to reclaim his own. And as ASBOs hadn't been invented then, he had no option but to kill him. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST Date: 25 Sep 10 - 11:50 PM The New York Historical Society Archives has a broadside with three songs printed without music: "Peggy Gordon," "Cold winter is past," and "Farewell." The New York printer was Joseph C. M'Cleland [M'Clelland], who was active at 285 Water Street during the years 1824-1829. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Singing Referee Date: 26 Sep 10 - 06:03 AM I've only ever heard mention of brandy, never whisky! |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Richard Bridge Date: 11 Oct 10 - 05:25 PM I have read the above (much of which calls shame upon the present level of discourse above the line), but what do we know of the tune? The version I have heard (from the 60s or so, and it's the popular tune AFAIK) sounds like mid 1800s pop music. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Taconicus Date: 23 Dec 10 - 11:50 PM I am in possession of a copy of the broadside mentioned above by GUEST, currently in the possession of the New York Historical Society. This is the earliest known publication of this song that I can find, and from the way it's printed, as the foremost song among three on the page, with no author given, one gets the impression that the song was well known by the time of this (1820s) publication. Here are the lyrics as printed on that broadside: Peggy Gordon Sweet Peggy Gordon, you are my darling, Come set you down upon my knee, And tell to me the very reason, Why I am slighted so by thee. I am deep in love, but I dare not show it, My heart is lock'd up in thy breast; I will plainly let the whole world know it, A troubled mind can take no rest. I'll lean my head on a cask of brandy, That is my fancy I do declare; For when I'm drinking, I'm always thinking, How shall I gain that young lady fair. I wish my love was one red rose, And planted down by yonder wall, And I myself was one drop of dew, That in her bosom I might fall. I wish my love and I were sailing, As far from land as one could see; Yes, sailing over the deepest waters, Where love and care would not trouble me. For the seas are deep, and I cannot wade them, And neither have I wings to fly; I wish I had some jolly boatman, To ferry over my love and I. I wish I was in Caropage, And my sweet girl along with me; Sweet Peggy Gordon, you are my darling; Sweet Peggy Gordon, I'd die for thee. I wish I was in Covel's Castle, Where the marble stones are as black as ink, Where the pretty girls they all adore me— I'll sing no more until I drink. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Desi C Date: 24 Dec 10 - 08:19 AM It's my favourite song to perform. Must admit I've never seen the words you posted. The late great Luke Kelly brought it to Ireland after being thought it at a Wolverhampton Folk club circa 1967 and always described it as of 'Scottish Origin' and though many in Ireland now regard it as an Irish song, it does have a distinct Scot's flavour to it. It may well have ravelled to Nova Scotia as many Scot's Trad songs did. And as Carrickfergus is believed to come from the late 60's it's possible it took some of it's words from the version you posted not vice versa |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Taconicus Date: 25 Dec 10 - 01:04 AM I've never heard of Caropage, nor apparently has Google. And the only "Covel's Castle" I was able to find was the ruins of a "White Covel's Castle" in a small town near Minsk in Belarus. Now there's a possibility for some detective work. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Joe Offer Date: 07 Jan 11 - 11:11 PM Don't know if I want to get ahead of schedule on Jon Boden's A Folk Song a Day project. It's still January 7 Mudcat time, and the songs for January 8 and 9 have not been announced on Boden's Website. BUT....the podcast feed page has "Otago" (Graeme Miles) for January 8, and Peggy Gordon for January 9. If you want to get ahead of the game, follow the podcast link. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Taconicus Date: 07 Jan 11 - 11:16 PM Ugh, don't care for that version. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Taconicus Date: 23 Nov 11 - 03:49 PM Incidentally, the date of publication of the lyrics on the broadside I reprinted above is fairly well identified as the 1820s because of the inscription at the bottom, "Printed and sold, wholesale and retail, by J. M'Cleland, 285 Water-st." According to the associated information sheet from the New York Historical Society, "New York printer Joseph C. M'Cleland [i.e. M'Clelland] was active at 285 Water Street during the years 1824-1829." (Brackets in original.) That being the case, I think this qualifies as the earliest known published lyrics of Peggy Gordon, as far as I know. (If anyone knows of a confirmed earlier publication, please let us know.) |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Mairi Date: 03 Feb 14 - 06:54 PM Taconicus - Re. "Covel's Castle", my father (born 1914) always sang it as "Colville's Castle", (pronounced Covil's), which he said was Culross Palace (in Scotland). He also sang "I wish I was in Carrickfergus", not "Caropage". He said it was an old Scottish song. He was half Irish and half Scottish, so he had no axe to grind! My father (and my mother, who was also half Irish and half Scottish) had a vast knowledge of traditional Scottish and Irish songs, all learned by ear. It was still common practice when I was young (in the 1960s and 70s) for friends and relations (adults and children) to gather in each other's houses at weekends, or for any occasion, to enjoy a drink and a big sing-song. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Katie O Date: 26 Jul 14 - 11:11 PM Having innocently come to my MudCat fellas to find the origin of the lovely Peggy Gordon... and subsequently having now read this entire (14-year!!) thread, I thought a good place to start was place names. It occurred to me that we now have Google Maps - which we didn't when Dan & John first started discussing it. And so, it is with great trepidation (and the firm understanding that I will likely get my head e-bitten off) I feel obliged to point out that there is a Covel, West Virginia. Which may link the New York Historical Society text with earlier assertions that there is a West Virginia link. Then again, there's also a Coville, Prince Edward Island (not far from Nova Scotia) in Canada. So it could make a case for the Canadians. And a Coville townland in Yorkshire. English, maybe? I give up. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Desi C Date: 28 Jul 14 - 09:08 AM One of my favourite songs of my repertoirere. I tend to research my songs to death, on the basis that if the audience don't like my stuff they can at least go home saying "well, i learnt something new" I originally thought PG was a scottish song, till I started delving. I now introduce it as "An Irish version, of an English version, of a scottish version, of an American version, of a Canadian song from Nova Scotia. And the earliest version indeed has it's roots there in the 1950's. I'm sure it has influences in Scottish music. The late Luke Kelly first heard it in a Wolverhampton in 1967 and took it to Ireland where it's often regarded as Trad Irish. And I believe it was The Late Pete Seeger who first brought it to England in the early 60's |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Julia L Date: 04 Jun 16 - 04:43 PM Just found this Maine version from Susie Carr Young from Brewer, Maine who worked with Fanny Hardy Eckstorm in the 1920's. It's in the Houghton Library among Phillips Barry's papers Little Sparrow I wish I was in a ship a-sailing As far from land as the eye could see A-sailing over the deepest water Where the cares of love could not trouble me I wish I was in Castle Korma Where the marble stones are as black as ink And the pretty girls would all adore me I'll sing no more till I take some drink I lay my head on a cask of brandy It's my fancy I do declare For when I'm drinking, I'm always thinking How shall I gain that young lady fair No sparrow... no Peggy....no Carrickfergus....? Looking for curry perhaps (Castle Korma- *grin*) best- Julia PS There is a melody but I am suspicious of her transcription skills. She writes it in C, but it sings much better with the b flatted... |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST,Desi C Date: 05 Jun 16 - 08:43 AM One of my Fav songs and I've searched many times for the origin. All evidence points to a 1950's Nova Scotia origin and I beliebe it's a versio of The Cuckooo and probably has Scottish influence |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Lighter Date: 05 Jun 16 - 08:51 AM > 1950s origin But see my post of 2 Feb 09. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Richie Date: 05 Mar 17 - 11:24 PM Hi, I'm working on another thread on a parallel group of songs. My study is found here: http://www.bluegrassmessengers.com/7k-love-is-teasing-love-is-pleasing.aspx Posted at the end of this study in my appendix is Item 4: "I'm Often Drunk And Seldom Sober," a broadside, at least four were printed the earliest by "Evans Printer, Long-lane, London" (Harding B 17(136b)), dated from "between 1780 and 1812". "I'm Often Drunk And Seldom Sober" from John Pitts, Printer (Johnson Ballads 868) at 6 Great St. Andrew Street, 7 Dials, London, between 1819 and 1844. Many cold winters nights I've travell'd, Until my locks were wet with dew, And don't you think that I'm to blame, For changing old love for new. I'm often drunk and seldom sober, I am a rover in every degree, When I'm drinking I'm often thinking How shall I gain my love's company. The seas are deep and I cannot wade them, Neither have I wings to fly, I wish I had some little boat, To carry over my love and I. I lean'd my back against an oak, Thinking it had been some trusty tree; At first it bent and then it broke And so my false lover proved to me. In London City the girls are so pretty, The streets are paved with marble stone, And my love she is as clever a woman As ever trod on English ground. I wish I was in Dublin city, As far as e'er my eyes could see, Or else across the briny ocean, Where no no false lover can follow me. If love is handsome and love is pretty, And love is charming while its new, So as love grows older it grows colder, But fades away like the morning dew. I laid my head on a cask of brandy, It was my fancy I declare; For when I'm drinking I'm always thinking How I shall gain my love's company. There is two nags in my fathers stable, They prick their ears when they hear the hound; And my true love is as clever a women As ever trod on England's ground You silly sportsmen leave off your courting, I'll say no more till I have drank, For when I'm dead it will be all over, I hope my friends will bury me. It clear to me, although I just made the observation, that Peggy Gordon is based on or similar to "I'm Always Drunk" and the songs related to it, Wally Waly (Water is Wide) and that "Peggy (Maggie) Gordon" is the source of the Water is Wide stanza (with some additional similar stanzas) in the US and Canada. This similarity is seen particularly in "Love is Lovely" and "Keg of Brandy" from Newfoundland. The core stanza in the UK of Water is Wide are from a "I'm Always Drunk" but the different stanza in the UK are from Unfortunate Swain. Further study is needed, Richie |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Richie Date: 05 Mar 17 - 11:32 PM Hi, Peacock titled the song, "Love is Lovely" which he collected in 1958 from Isaac Freeman Bennett [1896-1981] of St Paul's, Newfoundland: "Love is Lovely" I laid my head on a keg of brandy, It was my fancy I do declare; But while I'm drinking I'm ofttimes thinking 'Bout who should gain this young lady fair. Oh love is lovely, oh love is charming, Oh love is lovely when it is new, But when love grows old, sure it then grows colder, And it fades away like the morning dew. 2. Oh ofttimes drunk and cast down lonely, I rove around oh from town to town, And when my frolicking days are over, This fair young damsel will lay me down. 3. I wish to God I was never born, Or in my cradle I would have died; For such a youth to be ever born, To a-love a maid and be denied. 4. The ocean is wide and I can't wade over, Neither have I got wings to fly, But if I had some old skipper boat-man, I would ferry me over my love and I. 5. Oh, ofttimes drunk and seldom sober, A rolling stone looks so black as ink; I will place my coat for the want of money, And I'll sing no more till I get a drink! Notice that stanza 4 is the identifying stanza for "Water is Wide" also found in the "I'm Often Drunk" broadside and that stanza 3 is a reworked stanza from Died for Love. Stanza 1 is a chorus in the Newfoundland and recent Irish "Keg of Brandy," both are variants of "I'm Always Drunk." "Love is Lovely" is listed as Roud 1049 although it's clearly a separate variant with text from "I'm Often Drunk." Richie |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: Big Al Whittle Date: 06 Mar 17 - 05:57 AM Memories of Peggy Seeger singing this to her own autoharp accompaniment, with Ewan sat by her - in so many folk clubs. A lovely memory. |
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Subject: RE: Origins: Peggy Gordon From: GUEST Date: 09 Mar 18 - 10:59 AM also 'sweet maggie gordon' is the rewrite in it the singer is drinking water and the girl is his wife, rewritten to reflect the morals of the publisher. |
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