Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne

Subject: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: 1979
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 06:17 PM

Hello, I am lookikng for the lyrics to this song.

I think there is a chorus that goes something like this
Oh little dicky melbourne
You are far far from home
And you're after a bottle of sweet absalome

if anyone cane help me out here it would be greatly appreciated.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 09:16 PM

There isn't much song to it. It's a cante-fable. Dicky Milburn/Whigburn.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 09:35 PM

"Oh Dickey, Oh Dickey", 3 verses. Sung part only in J. Reeves' 'The Everlasting Circle, p. 286.
"Little Dicky Whigburn" 4 sung verses and narative, but no tune. Phillips Barry, 'Bulletin of the Folk-Song Society of the Northeast', 3, p. 6, 1931, no tune.
"Little Dicky Milburn", 2 verses and narative, Alfred Williams, 'Folk Songs of the Upper Thames', p. 293.
Also versions in 'Journal of American Folklore', no tune.

See discussion of 'The Second part of Tom Tram of the West' in C. R. Baskerville's 'The Elizabethan Jig and related Song Drama', p. 310, for a 17th century version.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 09:47 PM

Frank Purlsow has given a composite from H. E. D. Hammond's MSS in 'Folk Music Journal', p. 265, 1968. That in his 'The Foggy Dew' is probably the same, but I don't have the latter. This includes a tune.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 25 Sep 00 - 09:59 PM

It's Roud# 1321 in Steve Roud's folksong index, and he lists a few other English and American versions. It's "Dicky Melvin" in Peter Buchan's Secret Songs of Silence MS. Roud also lists a broadside copy in the Madden collection at Cambridge, but I can't find it on the Bodley Ballads website.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,John Leeder
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 11:41 AM

Jim Payne recorded a Newfoundland version of the story on an LP, and the informant he got it from was also on LP. I'll snoop a little and see if they're still available.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,John Leeder
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 11:51 AM

There's a version called "Little Dickie Milburn" on "Tall Are the Tales", from Pigeon Inlet Productions. Their website is .

The website includes a print version, including the lyrics to the song as it occurs in various spots throughout the story.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,John Leeder
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 11:55 AM

Why didn't the website name come through? I'll try it from memory, without re-searching it.

www.pigeoninlet.nfnet.com.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 02:44 PM

It didn't come through because you put it in pointy brackets, which tells the Browser to hide it!  Full info on basic html in the FAQ at the top of the Forum Page.

Malcolm

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,Bruce O.
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 03:20 PM

I fouled up my editing on the third posting above. That 'no tune' after the Journal of American Folklore citation should have been after 'Folk Songs of the Upper Thames'.

According to T. P. Coffin's 'Analytical Index to the Journal of American Folklore' there are versions of "Dicky Whigburn" in JAF, p. 122-4, 1916; p. 366, 1925; p. 34, 1932; and p. 134, 1942.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: GUEST,John Leeder
Date: 26 Sep 00 - 04:48 PM

Thanks, Malcolm. You learn something new every day. If I keep this up (i.e., if my employer doesn't get me busy again soon), I may have to learn how to do this properly...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Little Dicky Melbourne
From: 1979
Date: 29 Sep 00 - 11:41 AM

Hello, thanks for the info. The version I was speaking of is the one by Jim Payne. To any Nefoundlanders who read this they will most likely remember jigs dinner every sunday (radio program playing traitional music) and little dicky was on there a fair bit. Anyway thanks!